The Fire Raisers (German: Biedermann und die Brandstifter), also known in English as The Firebugs, Firebugs, or The Arsonists, was written by Max Frisch in 1953, first as a radio play, then adapted for television and the stage (1958) as a play in six scenes. It was revised in 1960 to include an epilogue, or afterpiece.
This dark comedy is set in a town that is being regularly attacked by arsonists. Disguised as door-to-door salesmen (hawkers), they talk their way into people’s homes and settle down in the attic, where they set about the destruction of the house. Written in the years following World War II, as a metaphor for Nazism and fascism, the play shows how “normal” citizens can be taken in by evil.
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