Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Overview

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophical crime novels, and macabre satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of Olten.

Dürrenmatt was born in Konolfingen, canton of Bern, the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather, Ulrich Dürrenmatt, was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began studies in philosophy, German philology, and German literature at the University of Zürich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester where he also studied natural science. 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, in 1974 to Israel, and in 1990 to Auschwitz in Poland.

In 1975 he played himself in the film End of the Game.

Dürrenmatt also enjoyed painting. Some of his own works and his drawings were exhibited in Neuchâtel in 1976 and 1985, as well as in Zürich in 1978.

His wife Lotti Geissler died on 16 January 1983. Dürrenmatt married another actress, Charlotte Kerr, in 1984.

In 1990, he gave two famous speeches, one in honour of Václav Havel ("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 other in honour of Mikhail Gorbachev ("Kants Hoffnung/Kant's Hope"). Dürrenmatt often compared the three Abrahamic religions and Marxism, which he also saw as a religion.

Dürrenmatt died from heart failure on 14 December 1990 in Neuchâtel.

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

Like Bertolt Brecht, Dürrenmatt explored the dramatic possibilities of epic theatre. 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 Cabaret Cornichon in Zürich; among these, the single-act grotesque short play Der Gerettete (The Rescued). ...

Source: Article "Friedrich Dürrenmatt" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Acting
2015	Dürrenmatt - A Love Story	Actor	Self (archive footage)	58 Average
1978	End of the Game	Actor	Lamont Friedrich	58 Average
Directing
1989	Achterloo IV	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1967	Frank V. - Die Oper einer Privatbank	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
Writing
2021	Without Anything	Writing	Writer	58 Average
2020	A visita do rancor	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
2017	Der Tunnel	Writing	Short Story	N/A N/A
2008	The Visit	Writing	Writer	59 Average
2008	The Visit	Writing	Theatre Play	59 Average
2006	Visit of an Old Lady	Writing	Novel	N/A N/A
2001	The Pledge	Writing	Novel	63 Fair
1997	It Happened in Broad Daylight	Writing	Novel	59 Average
1996	The Cold Light of Day	Writing	Novel	58 Average
1993	Justice	Writing	Novel	58 Average
1992	Hyenas	Writing	Theatre Play	59 Average
1990	Twilight	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1989	The Visit	Writing	Theatre Play	59 Average
1988	Физики	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1985	White Murder Night	Writing	Original Story	N/A N/A
1982	The Deadly Game	Writing	Novel	58 Average
1982	A nagy Romulus	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1980	Sa'aoud Bila Domouo	Writing	Novel	N/A N/A
1979	La promessa	Writing	Novel	N/A N/A
1978	End of the Game	Writing	Novel	58 Average
1978	End of the Game	Writing	Writer	58 Average
1976	The Visit of the Old Lady	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1975	The Accident	Writing	Novel	59 Average
1972	The Most Wonderful Evening of My Life	Writing	Theatre Play	60 Fair
1972	Последнее дело комиссара Берлаха	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1971	La visite de la vieille dame	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1971	Silence! The Court Is in Session	Writing	Story	59 Average
1968	A bíró és a hóhér	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1966	Once a Greek	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1964	Die Physiker	Writing	Author	N/A N/A
1964	The Visit	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1964	The Visit	Writing	Theatre Play	59 Average
1962	Operazione Vega	Writing	Screenstory	N/A N/A
1961	The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1959	Der Besuch der alten Dame	Writing	Writer	58 Average
1958	It Happened in Broad Daylight	Writing	Writer	62 Fair
1957	Der Richter und sein Henker	Writing	Writer	58 Average
1957	Der Richter und sein Henker	Writing	Novel	58 Average
1957	Die Panne	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A

About

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Overview

Known for

Acting

Directing

Writing