Biedermann und die Brandstifter
- Location:
- Altes Schauspielhaus, Kleine Königstr. 9, 70178 Stuttgart
A metaphor for our society: hardly any other play reflects the current problems - from right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism to the threat of war and economic decline
- as interesting as "Biedermann and the Arsonists".
Although there are urgent warnings throughout the city about destructive fires, the entrepreneur Gottlieb Biedermann invites two suspected arsonists into his house. Instead of defending himself against the obvious danger, he hopes that he can persuade the criminals to spare him, his family and his property by being friendly.
The story of citizen Gottlieb Biedermann is one of Swiss playwright Max Frisch's best-known plays. The legendary Berlin critic Friedrich Luft described the play as a
"Weltanschauungsgroteske with humor, irony and deeper meaning". Since its premiere in 1958, it has been an integral part of the repertoire of German-speaking theaters - and has just become more topical again. The parable-like "lesson without a lesson" shows how totalitarian forces can take over and destroy our basic democratic social order through a lack of trust, a cowardly willingness to compromise and false consideration.
As the Biedermann couple, Peter Bause and Hellena Büttner, who are among the best-known German film and television actors of their generation, return to our theater, where they were last celebrated in "Jeder stirbt für sich allein".
Performances 25.10. to 30.11.2024
With Peter Bause, Hellena Büttner, Oliver Burkia, Harald Hauber, Dorothée Kahler, Jan Henning Kraus, Christian Werner
Director Harald Demmer
Stage and costumes Oliver Kostecka
Dramaturgy Susanne Schmitt