Supping With The Devil
Presented by Handstand Productions
Written & performed by Jan Bolwell
Directed by Annie Ruth
Leni Riefenstahl was called ‘Hitler’s Pin-Up Girl’.
A dancer, an actor and one of the most brilliant and innovative film makers of the twentieth century, she sold her soul to Hitler’s Third Reich and destroyed her career.
This solo theatre performance by Jan Bolwell tells Riefenstahl’s story using text, music, dance and videography. As a young and talented artist Riefenstahl made films like Triumph of the Will, regarded as one of the greatest propaganda films of all time, and Olympia, on the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
After the Second World War Riefenstahl was ostracised in Germany and never made another film until she was in her nineties.
“It is a compelling piece of work which should travel far and wide. There have been very few that I would wish to see more than once but that is one of them.”
Supping with the Devil is a psychological study of a superb artist who becomes corrupted in her quest for power and fame. It is the story of a woman who was blinded by the charisma of a fascist leader, something we are all too familiar with in the present world.
In our play we try to delve below the surface into her state of mind, the myth making, the defensiveness, the blindness - often through the use of sound.
We believe it has contemporary relevance, as the world witnesses the rise of autocracies and populist leaders, and the serious challenges to democracy in the 21st century.
“I came away with so many questions – of the frailty and imperfections of humanity. What would I have done? .. and that was the essence of what made this show so brilliant – it just makes you stop in your tracks and think!”
“This is a powerful piece in many ways, and also a profoundly disturbing one.”
THE CREATIVES
Well known playwright and performer Jan Bolwell has drawn an exciting team around her for this new project.
Annie Ruth, actor and ex-leader of Toi Whakaari, directs the play. She was last seen on stage in Wellington this year in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and in Crows Feet Dance Collective’s Woman, Life, Freedom.
Helen Todd is a renowned designer and lighting director who has worked with major dance and theatre companies in New Zealand and who produces innovative design ideas for SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL.
Jan Bolton is a Waikanae composer who has collaborated closely with Bolwell on the play and has created an exciting and dynamic sound score.
Photographer: Bob Zuur.
