Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. He was a proponent of

epic theatre Epic theatre (german: episches Theater) is a theatrical movement arising in the early to mid-20th century from the theories and practice of a number of theatre practitioners who responded to the political climate of the time through the creati ...

whose plays reflected the recent experiences of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The politically active author's work included

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

dramas, philosophical crime novels, and

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the

Gruppe Olten The Gruppe Olten (Olten Group) was a club of left-wing Swiss writers who convened at Olten's "Bahnhofbuffet" (Swiss expression for a railway station restaurant) located in the canton of Solothurn in the Swiss plateau. It was founded in the aforeme ...

, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of

Olten Olten (High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zürich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub o ...

Life

Dürrenmatt was born in

Konolfingen Konolfingen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Konolfingen village is first mentioned in 1148 as ''Chonolfingen''. It is a relatively new municipality, having been f ...

, canton of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, the son of a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

pastor. His grandfather, Ulrich Dürrenmatt, was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began studies in philosophy,

German philology German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

, and

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

in 1941, but moved to the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

after one semester where he also studied

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. In 1943, he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945–46, he wrote his first play ''It Is Written''. On 11 October 1946, he married the actress Lotti Geissler. Dürrenmatt traveled in 1969 to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in 1974 to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and in 1990 to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

In 1975 he played himself in the film

End of the Game ''End of the Game'' (German: ''Der Richter und sein Henker'') is a 1975 DeLuxe Color German mystery thriller film directed by Maximilian Schell and starring Jon Voight, Jacqueline Bisset, Martin Ritt and Robert Shaw. Co-written by Friedrich ...

. Dürrenmatt also enjoyed painting. Some of his own works and his drawings were exhibited in

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

in 1976 and 1985, as well as in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

in 1978. His wife Lotti Geissler died on 16 January 1983. Dürrenmatt married another actress,

Charlotte Kerr Charlotte Kerr (29 May 1927 – 28 December 2011) was a German director, film producer, actress, writer and journalist. She first performed on stage in Fritz Kortner’s version of Schiller’s ''Don Carlos'' in 1951. She became well known fo ...

, in 1984. In 1990, he gave two famous speeches, one in honour of

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

("Die Schweiz, ein Gefängnis?/Switzerland a Prison?"), upon discovering he had been spied on for five decades, along with 800,000 of his left-leaning fellow citizens, by the

Swiss secret service The Swiss intelligence community is a group of agencies with responsibilities to protect the interests and infrastructure of Switzerland. History The first federal military secret service was established in 1937-1939 as Büro Ha by Hans H ...

; the other in honour of

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

("Kants Hoffnung/

Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemolo ...

's Hope"). Dürrenmatt often compared the three

Abrahamic religions The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish tradition ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, which he also saw as a religion. Dürrenmatt died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on 14 December 1990 in

. Since 2000 his works are exhibited in Centre Dürrenmatt, a part of the

Swiss National Library The Swiss National Library (german: Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek, french: Bibliothèque nationale suisse, it, Biblioteca nazionale svizzera, rm, Biblioteca naziunala svizra) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office ...

Dramatic works

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

, Dürrenmatt explored the dramatic possibilities of

. Next to Brecht, he has been called its "most original theorist". When he was 26, his first play, ''It Is Written'', premiered to great controversy. The story of the play revolves around a battle between a sensation-craving cynic and a religious fanatic who takes scripture literally, all of this taking place while the city they live in is under siege. The play's opening night in April 1947, caused fights and protests in the audience. Between 1948 and 1949, Dürrenmatt wrote several segments and sketches for the

anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

Cabaret Cornichon The Cabaret Cornichon (English: ''Gherkin cabaret'') was a Swiss cabaret company. It existed from 1934 to 1951 and was founded by Otto Weissert, Walter Lesch, Emil Hegetschweiler and Alois Carigiet. They were later joined by, among others, Max We ...

in Zürich; among these, the single-act grotesque short play ''Der Gerettete'' (''The Rescued'').''RSI Il Salvato, di Friederich Dürrenmatt''
for

Rete Due RSI Rete Due is the second Italian-language radio station from Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI). It was launched in 1985. Its headquarters are at the RSI-building in Lugano-Besso, reaching a daily average of between 26,000 a ...

, ''Colpo di scena'', December 2010 His first major success was the play ''

Romulus the Great Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play ''Romulus der Große'' (''Romulus the Great'', 1950) shows the demise of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century – taking place during the day of (and the day following) the Ides of March, 476. The ruin o ...

''. Set in the year A.D. 476, the play explores the last days of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, presided over, and brought about by its last emperor,

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

. '' The Visit'' (''Der Besuch der alten Dame'', 1956) is a

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

fusion of comedy and tragedy about a wealthy woman who offers the people of her hometown a fortune if they will execute the man who jilted her years earlier. The satirical drama ''

The Physicists ''The Physicists'' (german: Die Physiker) is a satiric drama/ tragic comedy written in 1961 by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The play was mainly written as a result of the Second World War and many advances in science and nuclear technology ...

'' (''Die Physiker'', 1962), which deals with issues concerning science and its responsibility for dramatic and dangerous changes to the world, has also been presented in translation. Radio plays published in English include ''Hercules in the Augean Stables'' (''Herkules und der Stall des Augias'', 1954), ''Incident at Twilight'' (''Abendstunde im Spätherbst'', 1952) and ''The Mission of the Vega'' (''Das Unternehmen der Wega'', 1954). The two late works ''Labyrinth'' and ''Turmbau zu Babel'' are a collection of unfinished ideas, stories, and philosophical thoughts.

Selected bibliography

*''Es steht geschrieben'' (1947) *''Der Blinde'' (1947) *'' Romulus the Great: An Ahistorical Historical Comedy in Four Acts'' (''Romulus der Große'', 1950, play) *'' The Judge and His Hangman'' (''Der Richter und sein Henker'', 1950;

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

) *''

Suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...

'' (''Der Verdacht'', 1951, also known as ''The Quarry'') *"

The Tunnel ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

" ("Der Tunnel", 1952; short story) *''

The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi ''The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi'' (german: Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi) is a 1961 Swiss-West German comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring O.E. Hasse, Johanna von Koczian and Martin Held. It is based on the 1952 play with the ...

'' (''Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi'', 1952, play) *''An Angel Comes to Babylon'' (''Ein Engel kommt nach Babylon'', 1953, play) *"Theatre Problems" ("Theaterprobleme", 1954, essay) *''

Once a Greek ''Once a Greek'' is a 1955 novel by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Its original German title is ''Grieche sucht Griechin'', which means "Greek man seeks Greek woman". It tells the story of a shy, middle-aged book-keeping assistant, who bec ...

'' (''Grieche sucht Griechin'', 1955, novel) *'' The Visit'' (''Der Besuch der alten Dame'', 1956, play) *'' A Dangerous Game'' (''Die Panne'', 1956, novel / novella, also known as ''Traps'') *'' The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel'' (''Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman'', 1958, novella) *'' The Physicists: A Comedy in Two Acts'' (''Die Physiker'', 1962, play) *''Der Meteor'' (1966) *''King John'' (''König Johann'', 1968, play) *''

Play Strindberg ''Play Strindberg'' is a comedy play by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt, written in 1968 and published in 1969. It is a free adaptation of August Strindberg's ''The Dance of Death'' (1900), using Strindberg's characters. The title is a refe ...

'' (1969, play) *''Monster Lecture on Justice and Law, with a Helvetian Interlude'' (''Monstervortrag'', 1969, lecture) *''The Coup'' ("Der Sturz", 1971, short story) *''Achterloo'' (1982) *''

The Execution of Justice ''The Execution of Justice'' (german: Justiz) is a 1985 novel by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It tells the story of an attorney who is tasked to reinvestigate a man sentenced for murder. The book criticises elements of the legal system ...

'' (''Justiz'', 1985) *'' The Assignment'' (''Der Auftrag'', 1986, novella) *"Switzerland—A Prison: A Speech for Vaclav Havel" ("Die Schweiz—ein Gefängnis. Rede auf Vaclav Havel", 1990, speech)

Dürrenmatt's stories in film

*''

It Happened in Broad Daylight ( en, It Happened in Broad Daylight) is a 1958 Swiss-West German-Spanish thriller film directed by Ladislao Vajda. The original screenplay was written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, a Swiss playwright and novelist, and the first incarnation of the fil ...

'' (1958), with a TV version made in 1997 *''

'' (1961) *'' The Visit'' (1964, ''Der Besuch der alten Dame'') *''Once a Greek'' (1966, ) *''Der Meteor'' (1968) *''Play Strindberg'' (1969), based on Strindberg's ''The Dance of Death'' * ''

Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe ''Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe'' (''Silence! The Court Is in Session'') is a Marathi play written by Indian playwright Vijay Tendulkar in 1963 and first performed in 1967, directed by Arvind Deshpande, with Sulbha Deshpande as the main lead. The ...

'' ''(Silence! The Court Is in Session)'' (1971), based on '' A Dangerous Game'' (also known as ''Die Panne'' (''Traps'')) *''Последнее дело комиссара Берлаха'' (''Inspector Bärlach Last Case'', based on ''Der Verdacht'') (1971, in Russian) *'' La più bella serata della mia vita'' (1972, by

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

, based on ''La Panne'') *''Авария'' (''The Breakdown'', based on ''Die Panne'') (1974, in Russian) *''

'' (1976), based on ''The Judge and His Hangman'', and in which Dürrenmatt himself appears in two scenes *'' The Deadly Game'' (1982, Trapp) based on '' A Dangerous Game'' *''Cumartesi Cumartesi'' (1984, Salam, stories in film) *''Физики'' (''The Physicists'') (1988, in Russian) *''Визит дамы'' (''The Visit of the Lady'') (1989, in Russian) *''Szürkület'' (''Twilight'') (1990, by

György Fehér György Fehér (12 February 1939 – 15 July 2002) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His film '' Szenvedély'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Filmography * '' III. Richárd'' ( ...

) based on the ''Es geschah am hellichten Tag'' movie script *''Hyènes'' (1992), adaptation of ''The Visit'' by the Senegalese moviemaker

Djibril Diop Mambéty Djibril Diop Mambéty (January 1945 – July 23, 1998) was a Senegalese film director, actor, orator, composer and poet. Though he made only two feature films and five short films, they received international acclaim for their original and ex ...

*''Jesienny wieczór'' (''An Autumn Evening'', based on ''Abendstunde im Spätherbst'') (1992, in Polish) *'' Justiz'' (1993) *'' The Pledge'' (2001), based on the novel ''Das Versprechen'', which is in turn based on the ''Es geschah am hellichten Tag'' movie script * ''

Male Nilluvavarege ''Male Nilluvavarege'' is a 2015 Indian Kannada film directed by Mohan Shankar and starring himself. The movie is based on L S Sudhindra's Kannada drama adaptation of the English play '' The Deadly Game''. Cast * Mohan Shankar as Mohan * Kav ...

'' (2015) Kannada movie is based on '' A Dangerous Game''

Adaptations

His novel, '' A Dangerous Game'' (also known as ''Die Panne'' (''Traps'')) was adapted into a Marathi play, ''

'' (Silence! The Court Is in Session) by Indian playwright

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...

in 1967. The play has since then been performed in various Indian languages, and made into a film by the same name by

Satyadev Dubey Satyadev Dubey (13 July 1936 – 25 December 2011) was an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter & film director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971. He won the 1978 National Film Award for Best Scree ...

. His play ''The Visit'' has been adapted and Indianised into a play called ''Miss.Meena'' by

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

-based theatre group 'perch'. ''The Visit'' has also been adapted as a musical by

Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musicals, which include ''Cab ...

. His play "The Indicident At Twilight" has been adapted into a play called "Sann 2025" by Piyush Mishra.

References

External links

* *
Friedrich Dürrenmatt home page
sponsored by the University of Chicago Press. Includes a 1969 interview with Dürrenmatt, his story "Smithy" and essay "Automobile and Railroad Nations," and essays on Dürrenmatt.

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Durrenmatt, Friedrich 1921 births 1990 deaths People from Bern-Mittelland District Swiss writers in German Swiss dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights Swiss male writers Grotesque Swiss male short story writers Swiss short story writers Schiller Memorial Prize winners Georg Büchner Prize winners 20th-century dramatists and playwrights