A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Norris)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 8m

Bertolt Brecht, Bruce Norris

Here's some advice: Don't ever underestimate Arturo. You'll be found out
and stopped, eventually, Just like I stopped this fuckin' treachery And
better late than never. Now ya see What happens when ya fuck with me,
ya lousy Rat-fuck bastards? Chicago. A city of jazz and gangsters,
prohibition and poverty.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Norris)

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 8m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)

Details

Summary
Here's some advice: Don't ever underestimate Arturo. You'll be found out and stopped, eventually, Just like I stopped this fuckin' treachery And better late than never. Now ya see What happens when ya fuck with me, ya lousy Rat-fuck bastards?

Chicago. A city of jazz and gangsters, prohibition and poverty. Amongst the murk of the Great Depression, there's room for a small time crook like Arturo Ui to make a name for himself.

Ui and his henchmen just want to look after you, to offer protection for workers, for jobs, for businesses. Nothing to fear. But a little bribery here, some harmless corruption there, and soon something much more dangerous takes hold.

Brecht's satirical masterpiece about the rise of a demagogue has been adapted by Pulitzer, Olivier and Tony award-winning American playwright Bruce Norris.

History
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opened on 21 April at the Donmar Warehouse, London, starring Lenny Henry.
ANNOUNCER
Men of the Chicago Cauliflower Trust:
CLARK
CARUTHER
BUTCHER
FLAKE
SHEET – A shipyard owner
DOGSBOROUGH – A shipyard owner
YOUNG DOGSBOROUGH – His son
ERNESTO ROMA – Ui's first lieutenant
ARTURO UI – Mob chieftain
TED RAGG – A reporter
DOCKDAISY
EMANUELE GIRI – Gangster, aka ‘Manny the Jester’
BOWL – Shipyard accountant
BUTLER – Employed by Dogsborough
O'CASEY – Chairman, Investigation Committee
GIUSEPPE GIVOLA – Florist, gangster, aka ‘Joey Flowers’
BODYGUARD
ACTOR – A washed-up thespian
HOOK – A grocery warehouse owner
JUDGE
DEFENDENT
PUBLIC DEFENDER
PROSECUTOR
BETTY DULLFEET – A businessman from Cicero
INNA – A young gangster recruit
GUNMAN
SHORT GUNMAN
IGNATIUS DULLFEET – Husband of Betty Dullfeet, a journalist
GROCERS – of Chicago and Cicero
  • Time Period 1930s
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Dazzling” – British Theatre Guide

“There’s never a dull moment.” – Daily Telegraph

“Brecht’s anti-fascist study of political power hits home in a tremendous new adaptation by Bruce Norris.” – The Guardian

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Authors

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), playwright, poet and director, was born in Augsburg, Germany in February 1898. He established himself as a playwright during the 1920s and early 1930s with plays such as Baal, Man is Man, The Threepenny Opera and The Mother. In 1933, as Hitler came ...
View full profile
Author

Bruce Norris

Now Playing

Related