Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany; and so on. In addition, every scene in the play is based, albeit sometimes very loosely, on a real event, for example the warehouse fire which represents the Reichstag fire, and the Dock Aid Scandal which represents the (Eastern Aid) scandal. The play is similar in some respects to the film The Great Dictator (1940), which also featured an absurd parody of Hitler ("Adenoid Hynkel") by Charlie Chaplin, Brecht's favorite film actor. Dramatically Arturo Ui is in keeping with Brecht's "epic" style of theatre. It opens with a prologue in the form of a direct address to the audience by an otherwise unidentified "Actor", who outlines all the major characters and explains the basis of the upcoming plot. This allows the audience to better focus on the message rather being concerned about what might happen next in the plot. Brecht describes in the play's stage directions the use of signs or projections, which are seen first on the stage curtain, and later appear after certain scenes, presenting the audience with relevant information about Hitler's rise to power, in order to clarify the parallels between the play and actual events. The play has frequent references to Shakespeare. To highlight Ui's evil and villainous rise to power, he is explicitly compared to Shakespeare's Richard III. Like Macbeth, Ui experiences a visitation from the ghost of one of his victims. Finally, Hitler's practiced prowess at public speaking is referenced when Ui receives lessons from an actor in walking, sitting and orating, which includes his reciting Mark Antony's famous speech from Julius Caesar. Characters and settings Dogsborough → Paul von Hindenburg Arturo Ui → Adolf Hitler Giri → Hermann Göring Roma → Ernst Röhm Givola → Joseph Goebbels Dullfeet → Engelbert Dollfuß (assassinated Chancellor of Austria) Caulifower Trust → Prussian Junkers (subsidized German landowners) Clark (of the Trust) → Franz von Papen Vegetable dealers → Petty bourgeoisie Gangsters → Fascists Fish → Marinus van der Lubbe (the Dutch Communist convicted of burning down the Reichstag) Equivalents for places and things cited in the text are: Chicago → Germany Cicero → Austria Dock Aid scandal → Eastern Aid scandal the Warehouse → the Reichstag Source: Alternative titles There are fewer alternative copies of the script than is usual with Brecht's works, since "most of the revisions, such as they were, [had] been made directly on the first typescript", but