Der Besuch der alten Dame – von Friedrich Dürrenmatt

45 years ago, pregnant Klara Wäscher left her hometown of Güllen in disgrace because her then lover, Alfred Ill, denied paternity. Eight lucrative marriages later, she returns under the name Claire Zachanassian and makes the money-strapped residents an immoral offer: "A billion for Güllen if someone kills Alfred Ill...". At first, the people of Güllen indignantly reject the offer, but gradually everyone behaves as if they already have the promised money in their pockets. And for Ill, it's soon neck and neck.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

The observer of human nature from the Emmental has always used macabre, grotesque and expressive means to address an often baffled, frequently enthusiastic but rarely bored public. Born in Konolfingen on January 5, 1921, the son of a pastor and grandson of a controversial politician and poet, he later tried his hand as a draughtsman, painter, student of various subjects, critic, author of cabaret texts, short stories, crime novels and radio plays.

The Visit of the Old Lady, first performed in Zurich in 1956 during a period of economic miracles, brought Dürrenmatt worldwide fame and is one of his most frequently performed works alongside The Physicists, written in 1962 (over one hundred performances in the Theater der Altstadt in 1975).

The Visit of the Old Lady as a tragic comedy has retained its consistent directness on stage to this day, despite questionable adaptations in German television studios and Hollywood film factories.