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The Fire Raisers by Max Frisch
Directed by Richard Watkins
Performances: Tuesday 15th - Saturday 19th April 2008, Prompt Corner
Swiss-German writer, Max Frisch's most famous play is very black, very funny and quite weird. The play, published in 1958, and set in an unspecific modern European city, is about bourgeois reaction and fear, and the insidiousness of radical urban terror. Or you might just see it as a grotesque domestic comedy of manners. And it includes a Greek chorus of fire officers commentating on the action!
The play opens in a city plagued with arson attacks which are terrorising its citizens. The arsonists insinuate themselves into respectable people's homes to use as a base for starting the terrible fires. Capitalist Herr Biedermann is forthright in his condemnation of those responsible, holding forth on the subject with little prompting. So, how does he wind up allowing two strange men to reside in his attic, what the hell are they doing with several large drums of oil and fuse cord, and how does he manage this appalling situation?
I will be directing the play with a cast of eight, with three fire officer/chorus parts doubling in 3 minor roles. All the cast will have plenty to get their teeth into. In the staging, I want to retain a fifties feel and not update it; the setting will be indicated by key furniture and lighting. The three fire officer/chorus' lines are divided up between them and I want to get them moving rather than presenting a static group intoning blank verse in unison. I wish to bring out the unconventional elements of the play, whilst retaining the essential humanity of the reactions to the unfolding horror.
Characters
These ages are approximate and depend on how people look together.
Gottlieb Biedermann - Reginald Stewart
Babette Biedermann - Annabel Entress
Anna, the maid - Venetia Twigg
Schmitz - Antonio Silvestri
Eisenring - James Watson
Chorus leader, fire officer / PhD - Jamie Scott-Clapperton
Chorus 2, fire officer / WPC - Jenny Mortier
Chorus 3, fire officer / Widow Knechtling - Charlotte Vaight
Crew
Stage Manager - Mark Ireson
Assistant Stage Manager/Production Assistant - David Redford-Green
Assistant Stage Manager - Kavina Kamat
Sound Design - Bob Callender
Lighting Design/Operation: Anna York/Induja Bandara
Special set and props work - Hans Mudlamootoo, Michael Wilson, Alex Robinson
Costume - Lisa Thomas
Photography - Mark Davies
Poster Design - Alex Robinson
For more details, please contact Richard Watkins, Director
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