Erfolg (Success)
based on the novel by Lion Feuchtwangerbased on the novel by Lion Feuchtwanger
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Munich 100 years ago. A politically motivated court case catapults the innocent Dr. Krüger into prison. While his wife fights with all her might against the injustice she has experienced, the others place their hopes in the unscrupulous nationalist Rupert Kutzner, who, with his «true Germans», is gradually dismantling the constitutional state.
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Munich, early 1920s: Dr. Martin Krüger, progressive director of the State Gallery, acquires offensive paintings for his museum—a welcome opportunity for the Bavarian government to finally remove the inconvenient contemporary from the scene. A politically motivated trial catapults the innocent man into prison. The 26-year-old graphologist Johanna Krain, first the fiancée and then the wife of the prisoner, feels the injustice she has experienced like a thorn in her side. Her mission is clear: Martin must be set free. Johanna begins to fight, gets deeply entangled in the thicket of power politics, and soon becomes emotionally involved in the fertile ground of the Bavarian beer-fueled lifestyle. She enters into a relationship with a major industrialist, sleeps with a shady upstart, and finally connects with an egocentric writer. All of them promise to help in the Krüger case, but fate and the passage of time put Johanna to the test.
In «Erfolg» we journey into the heart of a society in which one's own career advancement, the demands of wounded souls, hatred of one's neighbors, anger at those with different political views, or one's own lack of direction become the measure of all things. Politics becomes a stage for personal emotionality and individual neediness. This is grist to the mill for an unscrupulous figure like the nationalist Rupert Kutzner, who, with his «true Germans» gradually undermines the constitutional state and becomes a fatal bearer of hope.
Following his production of «Graf Öderland» (invited to the 2021 Berlin Theater Meeting), Stefan Bachmann turns his attention to Feuchtwanger's «Erfolg» a work that lucidly and astonishingly dissects the socio-psychological mechanisms in which democratic structures evaporate.
Munich in the early 1920s: Dr. Martin Krüger, the progressive Director of the State Art Gallery, acquires some indecent pictures for his museum – a welcome opportunity for the Bavarian government to remove this awkward customer from public view. A politically-motivated trial for perjury catapults the innocent man into prison. This injustice is a thorn in the side of the 26-year-old graphologist Johanna Krain, first the prisoner’s fiancée and then his wife. Her mission is clear: Martin must regain his freedom. Johanna starts fighting and soon ends up deep in the jungle of political intrigue, also becoming emotionally involved in the hotbed of beery Bavarian life. She enters a relationship with an industrialist, sleeps with an upstart from the demi-monde and finally ends up in a liaison with an egocentric writer. All of them promise to help Krüger, but fate and the passage of time put Johanna severely to the test.
With «Success», we journey into the inner workings of a society in which everything is measured in terms of personal career advantage, the demands of embittered contemporaries, hatred of one’s neighbours, anger at those with a different political opinion and one’s own lack of any sense of direction. Politics becomes an arena for personal emotions and individual needs. Just what an unscrupulous character like the nationalist Rupert Kutzner was waiting for, whose «True Germans» progressively bypass the rule of law while he advances to become a fatal figure of hope. Following his production of «Count Öderland» (invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen 2021), in Feuchtwanger’s «Success» Stefan Bachmann examines material that presents a prescient and astonishingly topical analysis of the socio-psychological mechanisms into which democratic structures retreat.
Artistic Direction
