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This 59 page play published by Samuel French, entitled 'The Physicists' by Friedrich Durrenmatt (translated by James Kirkup), was originally presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre on 9th January 1963 and was directed by Peter Brook and designed by John Bury. The play has 4 female roles and 16 male roles. The female parts are: Marta Boll, the Matron; Fraulein Doktor Mathilde von Zahnd, alienist; Frau Lina Rose; and Monika Stettler, a nurse. The male roles are: Police Inspector Richard Voss; Blocher, a police photographer; Guhl, a police stenographer; 1st Policeman; 2nd Policeman; Police Doctor; Herbert Georg Beutler (Newton), a patient; Ernst Heinrich Ernesti (Einstein), a patient; Oskar Rose, missionary and husband of Frau Lina Rose; Adolf-Friedrich, Wilfried-Kaspar, and Johan Wilhelm (the three sons of Frau Lina Rose and Oskar Rose); Johan Wilhelm Mobius, a patient; Uwe Sievers, chief male attendant; McArthur, a negro male attendant; Murillo, a male attendant. The synopsis of scenes is that the action of the play passes entirely in the drawing-room of a "villa" belonging to the private sanatorium known as "Les Cerisiers". Act I: About 4.30 on an afternoon in November. The immediate neighbourhood is an unspoiled lakeside that gradually deteriorates into a built-up area and then a medium-sized town. The villa in whose drawing room the action takes place is in what would have formerly been called a "madhouse". It was once the Zahnd summer residence and was where once all the patients of the establishment's founder Fraulein Doktor Mathilde von Zahnd were housed: e.g. decayed aristocrats; arterio-sclerotic politicians; debilitated millionaires; schizophrenic writers; maniac depressive industrial barons and so on; in short, the mentally disturbed elite of half the Western World.
Act II: An hour later. Time - the present. Includes a staging plan; furniture and property list; lighting plot and effects plot
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The drawing room of a comfortable though somewhat dilapidated "villa" belonging to the private sanatorium known as "Les Cerisiers." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The drawing room of a comfortable though somewhat dilapidated "villa" belonging to the private sanatorium known as "Les Cerisiers." Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
How sane are we? That is the question Durrenmatt poses in this tight little play which combines the metaphysical with the absurd. A murder in an asylum - another nurse dead - and inmates who believe they are Einstein and Newton. Perhaps they ARE Einstein and Newton, or perhaps Newton is Einstein and vice-versa.
Genius or madman? The ambiguity in the mental health of the madhouse staff adds to the fun: it is absurd, it is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but as the book of the play, you can read this in less than an hour and come away wanting to see it on stage.
My only criticism is that the translation falls down in a couple of places: if possible (and you read German!) try and read it in its original language. Some of the word-play only works with the exact words Durrenmatt used, in German.
Genius or madman? The ambiguity in the mental health of the madhouse staff adds to the fun: it is absurd, it is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but as the book of the play, you can read this in less than an hour and come away wanting to see it on stage.
My only criticism is that the translation falls down in a couple of places: if possible (and you read German!) try and read it in its original language. Some of the word-play only works with the exact words Durrenmatt used, in German.
1 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I staged this play at school a long time ago. It is one of the best modern german language plays. And it is very easy to stage : you just need one room !!!! I am going to order this book now, because i want my girlfriend to understand swiss humor
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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9 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Uniquely Playful, Entertaining, Suspenseful, and Thoughtful
14 Oct 2003
Format:Paperback
Three physicists have been confined to a very expensive posh mental institution, Les Cerisiers. Herbert George Beutler says he is Isaac Newton, but he knows that he is really Einstein. He adopted the guise of Newton to avoid upsetting another patient, Ernst Heinrich Ernesti, who claims he is Einstein. The third, Johann Wilhelm Mobius is himself. As a long term patient, he enjoys frequent visions of King Solomon.
I had the great fortune of knowing little about the plot. I was continuously entertained by the playful unraveling of a murder mystery. I urge you to avoid learning more. The imagination of Durrenmatt is quite remarkable. He weaves an entertainingly unpredictable story.
This short play warrants reading more than once, even more than twice, as the Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt not only entertains us, but explores fundamental questions regarding the role of science in modern society. The Physicists was written in 1962 when the world faced the possibility of nuclear war at any moment. The Physicists has been produced at the London Royal Court Theatre, on Broadway, and by many university theatre departments. I intend to become acquainted with the plays of Friedrich Durrenmatt.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Scientific Responsibility and the Inevitability of Ideas
17 Dec 2001
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I originally read this play some time ago while studying German in college and it is one of the few works from those years that has "stuck with me". In fact I still have the German language edition that I used at that time.
As other reviewers have said, one of the central themes of this work is the degree of responsibility that scientists have to humanity or something called "the public". Having worked for over twenty years now as a nuclear scientist, I can definitely say that at times the desire for knowledge can override the consideration of all the possible uses of a given technology. The question them becomes, can an idea be "unthought"? This secondary theme of the book is intertwined with the theory of the inevitability of ideas at a given time and place.
The translation by Kirkup is quite good as compared to the original German version that I have. Though the expository style (some very long dialogs) may be a bit daunting at times, stick with it. This play is a philosophical discussion, not a Hollywood action film.
As other reviewers have said, one of the central themes of this work is the degree of responsibility that scientists have to humanity or something called "the public". Having worked for over twenty years now as a nuclear scientist, I can definitely say that at times the desire for knowledge can override the consideration of all the possible uses of a given technology. The question them becomes, can an idea be "unthought"? This secondary theme of the book is intertwined with the theory of the inevitability of ideas at a given time and place.
The translation by Kirkup is quite good as compared to the original German version that I have. Though the expository style (some very long dialogs) may be a bit daunting at times, stick with it. This play is a philosophical discussion, not a Hollywood action film.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Excellent commentary and thought-provoking!
5 Mar 1998
Format:Paperback
Durrenmatt's play provides an excellent and thought-provoking critique on the role of modern science and technology in human affairs. Is science responsible to humanity? If we deem specific knowledge "harmful", how can we hope to prevent its discovery? If the knowledge does exist, how do we prevent its misuse? This is a play that is incredibly relevant in an age plagued with similar issues in genetic engineering and cloning. I'd highly recommend the German translation.
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