The Arsonists (German: Biedermann und die Brandstifter), previously also known in English as The Firebugs or The Fire Raisers, was written by the Swiss novelist and playwright Max Frisch in 1953, first as a radio play, then adapted for television and the stage (1958) as a play in six scenes.[1] It was revised in 1960 to include an epilogue.[2]
This dark comedy is set in a town that is regularly attacked by arsonists. Disguised as door-to-door salesmen (hawkers), they talk their way into people's homes and settle down in the attic, where they set about planning the destruction of the house.
The central character, a businessman called Biedermann, is seen at the outset reading newspaper reports of arson, convinced that he could never be taken in. Within minutes, the first "hawker" has appeared (Schmitz), and through a combination of intimidation and persuasion he talks his way into spending the night in the attic. As the play unfolds, a second arsonist appears (Eisenring), and before Biedermann can do anything to stop it, his attic is piled high with oil drums full of petrol. He even helps them to measure the detonating fuse and gives them matches, refusing to believe the full horror of what is happening. He soon becomes an accomplice in his own downfall.
The action is observed by a Greek-style chorus of "firemen", and the increasingly surreal flavour culminates in a final scene, the afterpiece, where Biedermann and his wife Babette find themselves at the gates of Hell. Here they once again meet Schmitz and Eisenring who turn out to be Beelzebub and the Devil respectively, who, after becoming angered at the number of mass murderers being allowed to go to Heaven, refuse to conduct a Hell for a "small fry" like Biedermann.[2]
Analysis
The first sketch was written in 1948 in response to the Communist takeover in Prague, but the play is often seen as a metaphor for Nazism and fascism, and Frisch encourages this through several allusions[citation needed]. The play shows how "normal" citizens can be taken in by evil.[3][4] As a parable, in a more general sense it may be considered to be descriptive of the gullible and easily manipulated aspects of the German Biedermann – the Everyman – who yearns both for a sense of shallow propriety and for a deeper sense of belonging, even if it comes at a great price, including that which is sensible or even necessary for his own survival. In that sense, the play shares much with absurdist plays written at around the same time, such as Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros.
The name Biedermann is itself a play on the German word "bieder" meaning conventional, conservative, worthy, honest, upright and is frequently used in a pejorative or ironic context. Thus the name equates to der biedere Mann or the worthy man. Bieder is associated with Biedermeier, a cultural style of the 19th century prominent for its association with a type of petite bourgeoisie mindset.
During his brief tenure as Director of the Liverpool PlayhouseBernard Hepton put on the play, which featured in his effort to move the theatre’s repertoire beyond its normal fare.[8]
In September, 2017, Washington's Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company produced an updated staging of the play,[10] almost immediately after the election of Donald Trump. The script was from the translation by Alistair Beaton and directed by Michael Garcés. The theater cast their artistic director Howard Shalwitzof as the lead actor.[10]
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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1958.
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Biedermann und die Brandstifter is a German-language opera in 2 acts by Šimon Voseček for 8 voices and orchestra to the composer's own libretto after Biedermann und die Brandstifter by Max Frisch. The opera was written 2005–2007 and premiered 2013 at the Neue Oper Wien in Vienna under director: Béatrice Lachaussée, and conductor Walter Kobéra as well as at Bozen in the German-speaking area of Northern Italy.
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