''The Arsonists'' (), previously also known in English as ''The Firebugs'' or ''The Fire Raisers'', was written by the Swiss novelist and playwright Max Frisch in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, first as a radio play, then adapted for television and the stage (1958) as a play in six scenes. It was revised in 1960 to include an epilogue.Frisch's ''The Firebugs'' Opens on Thursday ''Titan Times'' 10(24) May 14, 1968
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Plot

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 Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

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 In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict 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.

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. The play shows how "normal" citizens can be taken in by evil. 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 as well as 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 The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

, a cultural style of the 19th century prominent for its association with a type of '' petite bourgeoisie'' mindset.

Production history

The Fire Raisers, translated by Michael Bullock, was produced in London on December 21, 1961, at the Royal Court Theatre with Alfred Marks as Biedermann. Jules Irving and Herbert Blau directed a San Francisco

Actor's Workshop The Actor's Workshop was a theatre company founded in San Francisco in 1952. It was the first professional theatre on the west coast to premiere many of the modern American classics such as Arthur Miller's ''Death of a Salesman'' and ''The Crucib ...

production of ''The Firebugs'' on February 28, 1964. Mordecai Gorelik, research professor of theater at Southern Illinois University, wrote the authorized English translation and directed it to positive reviews in 1964 while a Visiting Professor at California State University, Los Angeles, and again June 1–5, 1965 at SIU. The inmates of San Quentin Prison staged ''The Firebugs'' in June, 1965. The first United States performance that included the epilogue was directed by

Edwin Duerr Edwin Duerr (February 21, 1904 – August 13, 1985) was a theater and radio director. He was director of the Little Theater at University of California, Berkeley when he discovered Gregory Peck. He wrote the books ''The Length and Depth of Actin ...

on May 16, 1968, at California State College, Fullerton. During his brief tenure as Director of the Liverpool Playhouse Bernard Hepton put on the play, which featured in his effort to move the theatre’s repertoire beyond its normal fare. A new translation of the play by Alistair Beaton entitled ''The Arsonists'', featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, was produced at London's Royal Court Theatre in November 2007, under the direction of

Ramin Gray Ramin Gray (born 11 October 1963) is a theatre director of Iranian (Muslim) and British (Jewish) heritage. Personal life Born in London in 1963, Ramin grew up in Oxford, Tehran, New York and Paris before graduating from Christ Church, Oxford with ...

. It was also performed in 1968 at the Bristol Old Vic with Tim Pigott-Smith as one of the Fireraisers. The play has been adapted into the opera '' Biedermann und die Brandstifter'' by Šimon Voseček (premiered in 2013 at the Neue Oper Wien in Vienna). The English version ''Biedermann and the Arsonists'', translated by David Pountney, was performed at the Independent Opera at Sadler's Wells in November 2015. (director: Max Hoehn, conductor: Tim Redmond).Independent Opera – ''Biedermann and the Arsonists''
/ref> In September, 2017, Washington's Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company produced an updated staging of the play, 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.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Raisers 1958 plays Literary works by Max Frisch Swiss plays Comedy plays Black comedy plays Hell in popular culture Plays adapted into operas Absurdist fiction