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Authors

A

Fabiano Alborghetti,

Carole Allamand,

Urs Allemann

B

Guido Bachmann,

Jean-Luc Benoziglio,

Sibylle Berg,

Bern ist überall,

Donata Berra,

Clo Duri Bezzola,

Peter Bichsel,

S. Corinna Bille,

Hans Boesch,

Giovanni Bonalumi,

David Bosc,

Nicolas Bouvier,

Anne Brécart,

Irena Brežná,

Lukas Bärfuss,

Katja Brunner,

Ernst Burren,

Julien Burri,

Roland Buti

C

Arno Camenisch,

Alex Capus,

Maurice Chappaz,

Gaston Cherpillod,

Jacques Chessex,

Anita Siegfried (Text),

Claudia de Weck (Ill.),

Martina Clavadetscher,

David Collin,

Nicolas Couchepin

D

Flurin Darms,

Massimo Daviddi,

Martin R. Dean,

Zora del Buono,

Max Huwyler (Text),

Dieter Leuenberger (Ill.),

Franz Dodel,

Elvira Dones,

Friedrich Dürrenmatt,

Ralph Dutli

E

Dorothee Elmiger,

Lisa Elsässer

F

Urs Faes,

Luisa Famos,

Andrea Fazioli,

Michael Fehr,

Anna Felder,

Felice Filippini,

Catalin D. Florescu,

Eleonore Frey,

Ursula Fricker,

Alexandre Friederich,

Max Frisch

G

Zsuzsanna Gahse,

Katharina Geiser,

Massimo Gezzi,

Andrea Gianinazzi,

Dagny Gioulami,

Eugen Gomringer,

Nora Gomringer,

Roman Graf,

Dana Grigorcea

H

Heinz Helle,

Reto Hänny,

Franz Hohler,

Thomas Hürlimann,

Michael Hugentobler,

Sandra Hughes

I

Felix Philipp Ingold

J

Anja Jardine,

Hanna Johansen

K

Lorenz Pauli (Text),

Kathrin Schärer (Ill.),

Christoph Keller,

Birgit Kempker,

Pascale Kramer,

Thilo Krause,

Agota Kristof,

Tim Krohn,

Robert Walser (Text),

Käthi Bhend (Ill.),

Meral Kureyshi

L

Monique Laederach,

Rolf Lappert,

Doris Lecher,

Pedro Lenz,

Pierre Lepori,

Eva Maria Leuenberger,

Gertrud Leutenegger,

Hugo Loetscher,

Catherine Louis,

Jonas Lüscher

M

Urs Mannhart,

Pietro de Marchi,

Plinio Martini,

Grytzko Mascioni,

Mariella Mehr,

Jérôme Meizoz,

Klaus Merz,

Michel Mettler,

Jörg Müller,

Gianna Molinari,

Perikles Monioudis,

Adolf Muschg

N

Melinda Nadj Abonji,

Andreas Neeser,

Jens Nielsen

O

Giovanni Orelli,

Angelika Overath

P

Rose-Marie Pagnard,

Andri Peer,

Oscar Peer,

Anne Perrier,

Rut Plouda,

Marius Daniel Popescu,

Dubravko Pušek,

Fabio Pusterla

Q

Claudia Quadri

R

Kuno Raeber,

Philippe Rahmy,

Dragica Rajčić,

Ilma Rakusa,

Nicolas Robel,

Antonio Rossi,

Gustave Roud,

Anna Ruchat,

Simona Ryser

S

Catherine Safonoff,

Isolde Schaad,

Hansjörg Schertenleib,

Michail Schischkin,

Hansjörg Schneider,

Kathrin Schärer,

Jürg Schubiger,

Hans Schumacher,

Ruth Schweikert,

Monique Schwitter,

Jon Semadeni,

Tommaso Soldini,

Anna Sommer,

Peter Stamm,

Michael Stauffer,

Bruno Steiger,

Michelle Steinbeck,

Jens Steiner,

Carmen Stephan,

Beat Sterchi,

Martin Suter

T

José-Flore Tappy,

Pierre-Alain Tâche,

Matteo Terzaghi,

Leo Tuor

U

Marie-Jeanne Urech,

Raphael Urweider

V

Aglaja Veteranyi,

Christina Viragh,

Peter von Matt

W

Robert Walser,

Frédéric Wandelère,

Julia Weber,

Peter Weber,

Markus Werner,

Urs Widmer

Z

Mary-Laure Zoss,

Matthias Zschokke

Thomas Hürlimann

The Envoy

«Es braucht auch Männer mit Phantasie in der grossen Politik. Nicht zu viele, Gott behüte, aber ein paar davon braucht es.»

The Foehn wind is blowing up a storm but Heinrich’s blind father still wants to welcome his son with garlands, lampions and flags when he returns home from a successful mission on 8 May 1945, the day of Germany’s surrender. The son has led the Berlin legation through «momentous, testing times» and skillfully preserved Switzerland from war. However, the family welcome takes the worst possible turn in Thomas Hürlimann’s play «Der Gesandte» (first performed: Schauspielhaus Zürich 1991) as Heinrich Zwygart is dropped by the Federal Council. It is the «General’s uncompromising resistance» alone that has saved Switzerland, and not a diplomatic balancing act of adaptation and neutrality towards the Third Reich. Zwygart finds himself isolated as a «traitor to his country» and forgotten as all trace of him disappears in a flurry of thick-falling snow and strains of Wagnerian piano.

Performed for the first time in the 700th year of the Swiss Confederation, Hürlimann’s play provocatively draws attention to a period of transition in which clever opportunists changed their convictions as quickly as they redefined their understanding of Swiss history. In the confusion of such a collective living of lies, those who clung onto their historical significance like Zwygart, and Hans Frölicher, the fashionable, controversial Swiss delegate to Berlin from 1938-1945 he is based upon, simply went under.

(Severin Perrig, transl. by Andrea Mason Willfratt)

Translation of title: Der Gesandte

Scena Theatre, Washington 1994

Weitere Lesetipps

Thomas Hürlimann

Der grosse Kater

Thomas Hürlimann’s «Der grosse Kater» subjects Swiss politics to critical historical analysis in a p…