Based on the novel of a career by Klaus Mann
An artist caught between conforming and rebelling
Actor Hendrik Höfgen embarks on a dizzying ascent when he is engaged by the Prussian State Theatre in Berlin. After his triumph in the role of Mephistopheles, he makes a pact with the devil himself. The fascist prime minister appoints him as director of the theatre and Höfgen finds himself playing the role of his lifetime: manoeuvring between conforming and rebelling, between benefiting from and criticising the system, between art and power.
“Mephisto” is Klaus Mann’s devastating account of the life of actor and director Gustaf Gründgens, who was married to Mann’s sister Erika from 1925 to 1928. Banned in West Germany for decades, it is one of the most controversial novels of post-war German society: a roman à clef about the responsibility of the individual in a fascist state.
Jette Steckel was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen for the first time in 2024 with her celebrated Munich debut, “Die Vaterlosen” (The Fatherless). She is an expert in the imaginative dramatizations of novels and a master of visually powerful, poetic feasts of acting.
“Are we willing to tear down the boundaries of our beliefs for our own benefit? In order to make art possible, would we be willing to deprive it of its freedom and let it become a political plaything? These are questions that currently arise in the light of growing right-wing sentiment in our country. When do people, and especially artists, become opportunists?”
– Jette Steckel, director
- With Bless Amada, Erwin Aljukić, Johanna Eiworth, Elias Krischke, Linda Pöppel, Thomas Schmauser, Maren Solty, Edmund Telgenkämper, Martin Weigel
- Directed by Jette Steckel
- Stage Design Florian Lösche
- Costume Design Pauline Hüners
- Music Mark Badur, Elias Krischke
- Lighting Design Maximilian Kraußmüller
- Version Emilia Heinrich, Jette Steckel, Johanna Höhmann
- Dramaturgy Johanna Höhmann, Theresa Schlesinger, Carl Hegemann
- Assistant to the Director Hannah Waldow
- Stage Design Assistant Julia Bahn
- Costume Design Assistant Rafael Hinz
- Directing Intern Lola Rogun
- Stage Design Intern Eloise Kent
- Costume Design Intern Amelie Heigl
- Stage Manager Barbara Stettner
- Prompter Verena Rendtorff
- Artistic Production Management Zora Luhnau
- Technical Production Management Jonas Pim Simon
- Stage Master Kai Bockermann
- Stage machinery Michael Preusser
- Bühnenmaschinerie Thomas Grill
- Signal box Diana Dorn
- Lighting Felix Adams, Daniel Prütz, Parthasarathi Sampath Kumar
- Sound Korbinian Wegler, Jonathan Wimer
- Video Jens Baßfeld, Julia Römpp
- Make-up Sylvia Janka, Marisa Schleimer, Brigitte Frank, Thomas Opatz
- Costumes Arite Pissang, Maria Popp, Nico Vanni, Teresa Winkelmann
- Props Anette Schultheiss, Sabine Schutzbach
- Carpentry Stefan Klodt-Bussmann, Josef Piechatzek, Josef Friesl, Michael Buhl, Clemens Künneth, Tobias Holland, Clerk Donauer, Fabian Petrini-Monteferri, Sebastian Nebe, Hannes Bickelbacher, Ellen Bosse
- Locksmith Jürgen Goudenhooft, Andreas Bacher
- Upholstery Tim Hagemeyer, Maria Hörger, Anja Gebauer, Tobias Herzog
- Lighting workshop Stefan Schmid, Wolfgang Wiefarn, Tankred Friedrich, Michael Pohorsky
- Painting Evi Eschenbach, Jeanette Raue
Trailer
Digital introduction
MK: Backstage
Press reviews
“Jette Steckel’s Munich production is dedicated to a son of the city – and makes the Kammerspiele shine. It is dazzling and clear; it is shrewd, clever and unreservedly charismatic.”
“…succeeds here in a convincing, rich and entertaining approach to the material with the many means of theater.”
“At the end, an appreciative premiere audience gave a standing ovation to a strong piece of theater and a triumph for the Kammerspiele.”
Dates & Tickets
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Sun 14.12. 4 – 7:40 pm
Introduction from 3:30 pm
-
Sun 4.1.26 4 – 7:40 pm
- Schauspielhaus
- Premiere: 28.2.2025
- 3 hours 40 minutes (with intermission)
- With English surtitles
- Thu-Sat: 15-45€, Sun-Wed: 10-40€, under 30 years each seat category: 10€