It Can´t Happen Here
based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis
The almost forgotten political novel by the Nobel Prize winner in literature Sinclair Lewis, It Can’t Happen Here, is currently experiencing a renaissance. Written in 1935 in the wake of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, Lewis’s seemingly far-fetched story depicts the ascent of an American political outsider and populist named Buzz Windrip to president of the United States. Windrip wins the 1936 election against Roosevelt and within a short space of time transforms the USA into a dictatorship with the support of the "League of Forgotten Men". After infiltrating the justice system, one of the first victims of his rule is the freedom of press, as portrayed through the character of newspaper editor Doremus Jessup, who suffers under the repressive regime first on paper, then physically …
In the mid-1930s, public opinion in the USA regarding the political situation in Germany was: "It can't happen here". Today many in Germany think the same in relation to the USA.
In the mid-1930s, public opinion in the USA regarding the political situation in Germany was: "It can't happen here". Today many in Germany think the same in relation to the USA.
Director Christopher Rüping
Costumes Lene Schwind
Music Christoph Hart
Stage lighting Thomas Langguth
Dramaturgy John von Düffel
Premiere
September 20, 2017, Kammerspiele
September 20, 2017, Kammerspiele
Camill JammalDoremus Jessup, Journalist
Wiebke MollenhauerSissy Jessup / Julian, her fiancée
Felix GoeserBuzz Windrip
Michael GoldbergLee Sarason
Benjamin LillieOberst Haik
Matze PröllochsLive music (drums), Shad Ledue, the gardener
Doremus Jessup, Journalist
Sissy Jessup / Julian, her fiancée
Buzz Windrip
Lee Sarason
Oberst Haik
Live music (drums), Shad Ledue, the gardener
Exberliner
Director Christopher Rüping has adapted the novel to evoke today’s demagoguery on both sides of the pond, mixing Trumpian riffs with references to European calls for guaranteed basic income. Felix Goeser fuels the production’s strong start with his front-facing, charismatic performance as a campaigning Windrip, but the energy subsides in scenes hewing closer to the novel’s plot in which Windrip’s Secretary of State seizes power only to be overthrown himself in a military putsch.
Director Christopher Rüping has adapted the novel to evoke today’s demagoguery on both sides of the pond, mixing Trumpian riffs with references to European calls for guaranteed basic income. Felix Goeser fuels the production’s strong start with his front-facing, charismatic performance as a campaigning Windrip, but the energy subsides in scenes hewing closer to the novel’s plot in which Windrip’s Secretary of State seizes power only to be overthrown himself in a military putsch.
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