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{{short description|Swiss author and dramatist (1921–1990)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Friedrich Dürrenmatt
| image = Friedrich Dürrenmatt, 1979.tif
| image_size =
| caption = Dürrenmatt in 1989
| pen_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|1|5|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Konolfingen]], [[Canton of Bern|Bern]], Switzerland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|12|14|1921|1|5|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Neuchâtel]], Switzerland
| occupation = Playwright, novelist
| language = German
| ethnicity =
| citizenship =
| education =
| years_active = 1951–1990
| genre =
| subject =
| movement =
| notable_works = ''[[The Physicists]]''<br>''[[The Visit (play)|The Visit]]''
| spouse = {{marriage|Lotti Geißler|1946|1983|end=d.}}<br>{{marriage|[[Charlotte Kerr]]|1984}}
| partner =
| children = 3 (with Geißler)
| relatives =
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards =
| signature =
| website =
}}
'''Friedrich Dürrenmatt''' ({{IPA|de|ˈfriːdrɪç ˈdʏrənˌmat|lang|De-Friedrich Dürrenmatt.ogg}}; 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]].

==Life==
Dürrenmatt was born in [[Konolfingen]], canton of [[Bern]], the son of a [[Swiss Reformed Church|Protestant]] pastor. His grandfather, Ulrich Dürrenmatt, was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935.

Dürrenmatt began studies in philosophy, [[German studies|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]]. During his time as a student, he was briefly a member of the ''Fröntler'' ([[Frontist movement|Frontists]]), a far-right movement parallel to those of National Socialism in the German Reich and fascism in Italy. He later attributed this activity to a desire to rebel against his father.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-15 |title=Dürrenmatts Flirt mit den Nazis |url=https://www.20min.ch/story/duerrenmatts-flirt-mit-den-nazis-349685871160 |access-date=2026-06-10 |website=20 Minuten |language=de}}</ref>

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'' (later revised as ''The Anabaptists: A Comedy in Two Acts'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dürrenmatt |first=Friedrich |title=The Anabaptists: A Comedy in Two Acts |publisher=Pandora Press |year=2025 |isbn=978-1778730375 |location=Hamilton, Ontario}}</ref>

Dürrenmatt traveled in 1969 to the [[United States]], in 1974 to [[Israel]], and in 1990 to [[Auschwitz]] in [[Poland]].

In 1990 he gave two famous speeches, one in honour of [[Václav Havel]] ("[[Die Schweiz – ein Gefängnis|Die Schweiz – ein Gefängnis/Switzerland – A Prison]]") on discovering that he had been spied on for five decades, along with 800,000 of his left-leaning fellow citizens, by the [[Swiss Secret Service|Swiss secret service]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-secret-service-spied-on-duerrenmatt/46681496|title=Swiss secret service spied on Dürrenmatt|date=6 June 2021 }}</ref> the other in honour of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] ("Kants Hoffnung/[[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s Hope"). Dürrenmatt often compared the three [[Abrahamic religions]] and [[Marxism]], which he also saw as a religion.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Dürrenmatt died from [[congestive heart failure|heart failure]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/fdurren.htm |title=Friedrich Dürrenmatt |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223120107/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/fdurren.htm |archive-date=23 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> on 14 December 1990 in [[Neuchâtel]]<ref name="a071">{{cite web | title=Dürrenmatt, Friedrich | publisher=Bayerische Staatsbibliothek | url=https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/dbo033245.html#dbocontent | language=de | access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> aged 69.

From a young age and throughout his lifetime, Dürrenmatt also enjoyed painting, although this largely remained a private passion. Some of his works and his drawings were exhibited in [[Neuchâtel]] in 1976 and 1985 and in [[Zürich]] in 1978. Since 2000, over 1,000 of his artistic works have been exhibited in the [[Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel]], part of the [[Swiss National Library]]<ref name="q639">{{cite web | title=Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel | website=Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel | date=21 February 2025 | url=https://www.cdn.ch/cdn/en/home.html | access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref>. The museum was designed by [[Mario Botta]] and constructed around the author's former home.

[[File:Neuchatel CentreDuerrenmatt 2004.jpg|thumb|left|View above the [[Centre Dürrenmatt]] at [[Lake Neuchâtel]]]]

=== Personal life ===
On 11 October 1946, Dürrenmatt married the actress Lotti Geißler. They first lived in Basel, where their son Peter was born in 1947, before relocating to Ligerz, a village in the canton of Bern. The couple's second child, Barbara, was born in 1949, followed by Ruth in 1951. Geißler died on 16 January 1983, plunging Dürrenmatt into a personal and professional crisis.

In 1984, Dürrenmatt married actress and director [[Charlotte Kerr]] whom he met while working on a documentary<ref name="j671">{{cite web | title=Charlotte Kerr Dürrenmatt | website=Diogenes Verlag | url=https://www.diogenes.ch/leser/autoren/k/charlotte-kerr-duerrenmatt.html?srsltid=AfmBOop3yRW5iIu1h2IPu80cIP_s3baCiyRbo4aume6OJ0jTKs5HOPQl | language=de | access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> in the months following Geißler's death. Kerr recorded her memories of the couple's shared life in her book ''Die Frau im roten Mantel'' (The Woman in the Red Coat).

==Dramatic works==
Like [[Bertolt Brecht]], Dürrenmatt explored the dramatic possibilities of [[epic theatre]]. Next to Brecht he has been called its "most original theorist".<ref>{{cite book |first=Christoph |last=Siegrist |chapter=Nationalliterarische Aspekte bei Schweizer Autoren |title=Hansers Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur vom 16. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart |publisher=Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag |location=Munich/Vienna |date=1986 |isbn=978-3-423-04352-6 |volume=10 |page=665 |language=de}}</ref>

When he was 26 his first play, ''It Is Written (Es steht geschrieben)'', 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 including the short single-act grotesque play ''The Rescued (Der Gerettete)''.<ref name="ReteDueIlSalvato2010">[http://retedue.rsi.ch/home/networks/retedue/colpodiscena/2010/12/10/il-salvato.html ''RSI Il Salvato, di Friederich Dürrenmatt''], for [[Rete Due]], ''Colpo di scena'', December 2010</ref>

His first major success was the play ''[[Romulus the Great]]''. Set in the year A.D. 476, the play explores the last days of the [[Roman Empire]], presided over and brought about by its last emperor, [[Romulus Augustulus|Romulus]].

As his most widely performed and translated play, ''[[The Visit (play)|The Visit]]'' (''Der Besuch der alten Dame'', 1956) is often regarded as Dürrenmatt's best work. It is a [[grotesque]] fusion of comedy and tragedy about a wealthy woman who offers the people of her hometown a fortune if they will avenge the wrongs done to her.

The satirical drama ''[[The Physicists]]'' (''Die Physiker'', 1962), which deals with issues concerning science and its responsibility for dramatic and dangerous changes to the world, has also been presented in translation.

Dürrenmatt announced his intention in 1970 to abandon literature, instead adapting established works for theatre. He went on to write detective novels and critical essays. His radio plays published in English include ''Hercules in the Augean Stables'' (''Herkules und der Stall des Augias'', 1954), ''Incident at Twilight'' (''Abendstunde im Spätherbst'', 1952) and ''The Mission of the Vega'' (''Das Unternehmen der Wega'', 1954). The two late works ''Labyrinth'' and ''Turmbau zu Babel'' are a collection of unfinished ideas, stories and philosophical thoughts.

==Selected bibliography==
*''Es steht geschrieben'' (1947)
*''Der Blinde'' (1947)
*''[[Romulus the Great|Romulus the Great: An Ahistorical Historical Comedy in Four Acts]]'' (''Romulus der Große'', 1950, play)
*''[[The Judge and His Hangman]]'' (''Der Richter und sein Henker'', 1950; [[novel]])
*''[[Suspicion (novel)|Suspicion]]'' (''Der Verdacht'', 1951, also known as ''The Quarry'', sequel to ''The Judge and his Hangman'')
*"[[The Tunnel (short story)|The Tunnel]]" ("Der Tunnel", 1952; short story)
*''[[The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi (play)|The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi]]'' (''Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi'', 1952, play)
*''An Angel Comes to Babylon'' (''Ein Engel kommt nach Babylon'', 1953, play)
*"Theatre Problems" ("Theaterprobleme", 1954, essay)
*''[[Once a Greek]]'' (''Grieche sucht Griechin'', 1955, novel)
*''[[The Visit (play)|The Visit]]'' (''Der Besuch der alten Dame'', 1956, play)
*''[[A Dangerous Game (novel)|A Dangerous Game]]'' (''Die Panne'', 1956, novel / novella, also known as ''Traps''<ref>''The Novels of Friedrich Dürrenmatt'', London: Pan, 1985</ref>)
*''[[The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel]]'' (''Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman'', 1958, novella)
*''[[The Physicists|The Physicists: A Comedy in Two Acts]]'' (''Die Physiker'', 1962, play)
*''Der Meteor'' (1966)
*''King John'' (''König Johann'', 1968, play)
*''[[Play Strindberg]]'' (1969, play)
*''Monster Lecture on Justice and Law, with a Helvetian Interlude'' (''Monstervortrag'', 1969, lecture)
*''The Coup'' ("Der Sturz", 1971, short story)
*''Achterloo'' (1982)
*''[[The Execution of Justice]]'' (''Justiz'', 1985)
*''[[The Assignment (novella)|The Assignment]]'' (''Der Auftrag'', 1986, novella)
*"Switzerland—A Prison: A Speech for Vaclav Havel" ("Die Schweiz—ein Gefängnis. Rede auf Vaclav Havel", 1990, speech)

==Dürrenmatt's stories in film==
*''[[It Happened in Broad Daylight]]'' (1958), with a TV version made in 1997
*''[[The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi]]'' (1961)
*''[[The Visit (1964 film)|The Visit]]'' (1964, ''Der Besuch der alten Dame'')
*''Once a Greek'' (1966, {{lang|de|Grieche sucht Griechin}})
*''Der Meteor'' (1968)<ref>{{IMDb title|0063295|Der Meteor}}</ref>
*''Play Strindberg'' (1969), based on Strindberg's ''The Dance of Death''
* ''[[Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe]]'' ''(Silence! The Court Is in Session)'' (1971), based on ''[[A Dangerous Game (novel)|A Dangerous Game]]'' (also known as ''Die Panne'' (''Traps''))<ref>{{IMDb title|0295599|Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe}}</ref>
*''Последнее дело комиссара Берлаха'' (''Inspector Bärlach Last Case'', based on ''Der Verdacht'') (1971, in Russian)
*''[[La più bella serata della mia vita]]'' (1972, by [[Ettore Scola]], based on ''La Panne'')
*''Авария'' (''The Breakdown'', based on ''Die Panne'') (1974, in Russian)
*''[[End of the Game]]'' (1975, by Maximilian Schell), based on ''The Judge and His Hangman'', and in which Dürrenmatt himself appears in two scenes
*''[[The Deadly Game (1982 film)|The Deadly Game]]'' (1982, Trapp) based on ''[[A Dangerous Game (novel)|A Dangerous Game]]''
*''Cumartesi Cumartesi'' (1984, Salam, stories in film)
*''Физики'' (''The Physicists'') (1988, in Russian)
*''Визит дамы'' (''The Visit of the Lady'') (1989, in Russian)
*''Szürkület'' (''Twilight'') (1990, by [[György Fehér]]) based on the ''Es geschah am hellichten Tag'' movie script
*''[[Hyenas (1992 film)|Hyènes]]'' (1992), adaptation of ''The Visit'' by the Senegalese moviemaker [[Djibril Diop Mambéty]]
*''Jesienny wieczór'' (''An Autumn Evening'', based on ''Abendstunde im Spätherbst'') (1992, in Polish)
*''[[Justice (1993 film)|Justiz]]'' (1993)
*''[[The Pledge (film)|The Pledge]]'' (2001), based on the novel ''Das Versprechen'', which is in turn based on the ''Es geschah am hellichten Tag'' movie script
* ''[[Male Nilluvavarege]]'' (2015) Kannada movie is based on ''[[A Dangerous Game (novel)|A Dangerous Game]]''
* ''[[Chehre]]'' (2021) Hindi movie is based on ''[[A Dangerous Game (novel)|A Dangerous Game]]''

==Adaptations==
His novel, ''[[A Dangerous Game (novel)|A Dangerous Game]]'' (also known as ''Die Panne'' (''Traps'')) was adapted into a Marathi play, ''[[Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe]]'' (Silence! The Court Is in Session) by Indian playwright [[Vijay Tendulkar]] in 1967.<ref name="v468">{{cite book | last=Karnad | first=Girish | last2=Sircar | first2=Badal | last3=Tendulkar | first3=Vijay | title=Three Modern Indian Plays | publisher=Delhi; New York : Oxford University Press | publication-place=Oxford | date=1989 | isbn=978-0-19-562372-7 | page=}}</ref> The play has since then been performed in various Indian languages, and made into a film by the same name by [[Satyadev Dubey]].<ref name="j895">{{cite web | title=Noted theatre personality Satyadev Dubey dead | website=The New Indian Express | date=25 December 2011 | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2011/Dec/25/noted-theatre-personality-satyadev-dubey-dead-323754.html | access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> It was also adapted into the 2021 Hindi feature film ''[[Chehre]]''.

His play ''The Visit'' has been adapted and Indianised into a play called ''Miss.Meena'' by [[Chennai]]-based theatre group 'perch'.<ref name="d742">{{cite web | last=Datta | first=Sravasti | title=It's Ms. Meena, once more | website=The Hindu | date=27 September 2013 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/its-ms-meena-once-more/article5175320.ece | access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> ''The Visit'' has also been adapted as [[The Visit (musical)|a musical]] by [[Kander and Ebb]].<ref name="c336">{{cite web | title=The Verdict: Critics Review Kander and Ebb's The Visit, Starring Chita Rivera | website=Playbill | date=4 August 2014 | url=https://playbill.com/article/the-verdict-critics-review-kander-and-ebbs-the-visit-starring-chita-rivera-com-326054 | access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref>

His play ''Incident at Twilight'' has been adapted into a play called ''Sann 2025'' by Piyush Mishra.<ref name="k720">{{cite book | last=Mishra | first=Piyush | title=San 2025 | publisher=Rajkamal Prakashan | date=2021-01-01 | isbn=978-93-89577-49-5 | language=hi | page=}}</ref>

In November 2024, [[Ian McDiarmid]] adapted ''A Conversation at Night'' and ''An Incident at Twilight'' under the name ''Different Truths'' for BBC Radio Drama on 3.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024xll | title=BBC Radio 3 – Drama on 3, Different Truths }}</ref> It featured [[Ian McDiarmid]], [[Jim Broadbent]], Michael Moreland and Ian Dunnett Jnr.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Everett M. Ellestad, "Friedrich Dürrenmatt's ''Mausefalle'' (''Mouse Trap'')", ''[[The German Quarterly]]'', 43, 4, 770–779, November 1970.
* Gerhard P. Knapp, "Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Studien zu seinem Werk", ''Poesie und Wissenschaft'', XXXIII, Lothar Stiehm Verlag, Heidelberg, 1976.
*[http://www.cdn.ch Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{Helveticat}}
*{{Helveticarchives|id=165042}}
*[http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/durrenmatt/ Friedrich Dürrenmatt home page] sponsored by the University of Chicago Press. Includes a 1969 interview with Dürrenmatt, his story "Smithy" and essay "Automobile and Railroad Nations," and essays on Dürrenmatt.
*[http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/friedrich-durrenmatt.html Radio drama by Friedrich Dürrenmatt ]
*{{Theaterlexikon|Friedrich Dürrenmatt|1|502|504|author=Brigitte Marschall}}
*{{IBDB name|5708}}
*{{IMDb name|246959}}
*{{SIKART|4004739|Dürrenmatt, Friedrich|Autor=Katrin Künzi}}

{{Austrian State Prize for European Literature}}
{{Georg Büchner Prize}}
{{Schiller Prize winners}}
{{Schiller Memorial Prize winners}}
{{German literature}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durrenmatt, Friedrich}}
[[Category:Friedrich Dürrenmatt| ]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bern-Mittelland District]]
[[Category:Swiss crime fiction writers]]
[[Category:German-language Swiss writers]]
[[Category:Swiss dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Swiss male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Swiss male writers]]
[[Category:Grotesque]]
[[Category:Swiss male short story writers]]
[[Category:Swiss short story writers]]
[[Category:Schiller Memorial Prize winners]]
[[Category:Georg Büchner Prize winners]]
[[Category:20th-century dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Swiss satirical dramatists and playwrights]]

Friedrich Dürrenmatt - Revision history

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