De welwillenden

The darkest side of human behaviour

Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones was published in 2006. This novel about the persecution of the Jews during World War II has been both lauded and criticised, because the story is told from the perspective of the perpetrator, SD officer Max Aue, who reminds us that under the ‘right’ conditions we could all be offenders. Littell shows us that the Third Reich was not excessively populated with monsters and perverts, but with ordinary citizens who, through collective National Socialism, moved towards total madness. He draws the readers into the mind of the perpetrator, placing them in the uncomfortable position of identifying with him.

In this stage version, Guy Cassiers confronts the darkest side of human behaviour: Nazi ideology and the destruction of the Jews. How could this happen in the heart of Europe? What political, ideological, psychological and social transformations generated this violence and allowed it to run its course? The shaky political basis of Europe and the rise of extreme right-wing and xenophobic parties give this project a special urgency.

In his staging, Cassiers focuses on Aues’ residence in three cities that play a central role in the novel: Kiev, Stalingrad and Berlin. Each city moves one step closer to total apocalypse. The Toneelhuis ensemble is reinforced by five actors from Toneelgroep Amsterdam, and together they set a carousel of characters around Max Aue in motion.

#bignames #destruction