Fear and Misery of the Third Reich

“From a distance, it is easier to see the mistakes people make when populism, propaganda, poverty and repression sow fear. Then we will take a look—as Brecht puts it—at exactly how a people becomes susceptible to manipulation, how totalitarianism is born, and how every individual in that people contributes to it through their choices. And it does not matter whether it is the 1930s or the 21st century. A century’s distance would indeed make it laughable, if the consequences were not so tragic,” says director Indra Roga.

A “golden classic” of theatre history. Bertolt Brecht, German playwright and representative of epic theatre, wrote the play *Fear and Misery of the Third Reich* (*Furcht und Elend des Dritten Reiches*) between 1935 and 1938, while in exile in Denmark. He wrote it close on the heels of the events of the time, while working in radio and writing for newspapers. “An impressive mosaic of life in Nazi Germany” (Michael Billington, *The Guardian*) remains a prescient mirror—wherever people let fear into themselves and lose their inner freedom.