The Arsonists

Description

Fires are becoming something of a problem. But Biedermann has it all under control. He's a respected member of the community with a loving wife and a flourishing business, so surely nothing can get to him. The great philanthropist is happy to meet his civic duty by giving shelter to two new guests but when they start filling his attic with petrol drums, will he help them light the fuse? Max Frisch's parable about appeasement is given its first major UK revival since its Royal Court premiere in 1961, which was directed by Lindsay Anderson. The play is published as a programme text for the production that runs from 1 November - 15 December on the main stage at the Royal Court.

Max Frisch was born in Zurich in 1911. His reputation rests equally on his novels and his work for the theatre. A collection of three of his most enduring and contentious plays is published by Methuen Drama. He died in 1991. Alistair Beaton is a British playwright whose work includes the play Feelgood, published by Methuen Drama.

Frisch's theme, as Alistair Beaton's sharp new translation makes clear, is bourgeois guilt ... compact, well-characterised and easily applicable to today's world ... a timeless political satire. -- Michael Billington * Guardian * Alistair Beaton's new translation has a witty zest about it -- Charles Spencer * Telegraph * A fresh, felicitous translation -- Nicholas de Jongh * Evening Standard *