By Jan Bolwell and Roger Childs

They (the Nazis) saw in her style the ability to create an operatic image of a Germany imbued with an overwhelming might, order, and beauty that matched their own vision. –New York Museum of Modern Art

Jan Bolwell’s fourth solo theatrical performance

Her subject is probably the most famous German woman of the 20th century. Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003) is best known as Hitler’s filmmaker, but there is much more. In her fourth solo performance, the multi-talented Jan Bolwell brings Riefenstahl to life in Supping with the Devil with a mix of film, music, text and dance. Previously Jan has done three very impressive solo plays about her family which all demonstrated her theatrical versatility.

* Bill Massey’s Tourists — about her grandfather experiences in World War 1.
* Milord Goffredo — about her father’s experiences during World War 2.
* Here’s Hilda — about her grandmother and her life as a South Island farming woman.

Corrupted in her quest for fame

Leni Riefenstahl was called ‘Hitler’s Pin-Up Girl’. A dancer, an actor and one of the most brilliant and innovative filmmakers 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 was given the opportunity and the resources by
Hitler to make films like Triumph of the Will on the 1933 Nuremberg Rally, regarded as
one of the greatest propaganda films of all time, and Olympia, on the 1936 Berlin
Olympics which revolutionised the way athletics is filmed.

Post World War 2 — reinventing herself
After the Second World War Riefenstahl was ostracised in Germany and never made another film until she was in her nineties. She reinvented herself as a skilled photographer and had major success in this medium with two best-selling books on the Nuba tribes in Sudan.

A great talent who sold her soul to the Nazis
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. It is worth noting that there were 50 court cases taken against her throughout her life, and she won all of them.

She was very skilled at telling her story the way she wanted it to be heard and understood. 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.

What many people never forgave about Riefenstahl is that she never admitted her complicity with Hitler’s Third Reich.

Very relevant in today’s world
Although this theatre work is set in the historical past, we believe it has contemporary relevance, as the world witnesses the rise of autocracies and populist leaders, and serious challenges to democracy in the 21st century.

It is a Handstand Production. Playwright/producer/actor: Jan Bolwell / Director: Annie Ruth / Composer: Jan Bolton / Designer: Helen Todd. Website: janbolwell.com

Performances

  • Kapiti – Performing Arts Centre (Te Raukura ki Kapiti)
    Friday 24 January 7pm / Saturday 25 January 2pm & 6pm
  • Wellington – Bats Theatre: 8-12 April
  • Bookings at Eventfinda