BY JACK WATSON
The Arsonists is a stage adaptation of a play written by the Swiss novelist and playwright Max Frisch. Originally published in Germany in 1958, the play was translated into English by Alistair Beaton and first produced in England in 1961. It later became known as The Fire Raisers. The play serves as a dark political satire, exploring societal complacency, moral cowardice, and ignorance. This tragicomedy is widely seen as a metaphor for Nazism and fascism, acting as a cautionary tale about bourgeois complacency, appeasement, and how ordinary, well-meaning citizens can be manipulated into enabling totalitarianism. It also criticises the middle classes during this period and resembles J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls.
I watched this play at one of the theatre studios at the University of Hull, where it was excellently created and presented by the university’s second-year BA Drama and Acting students. Their performances were of an exceptionally high standard and made it feel as though I was watching a professional production. The storyline was followed clearly, and the cast managed to make it hilarious. It was a firecracker of a performance and certainly sparked uproarious laughter and cheers throughout the audience. The play lasted around 90 minutes, and every second was worth it.
The setting consisted of a small stage designed to resemble a dining room, with a table in the centre and two fake doors on either side. There were also stairs leading up to an open room located at the rear of the stage.
A wealthy businessman named Mr. Biedermann lives in a town plagued by arsonists. Within minutes, he is visited by a mysterious man called Schmitz, who claims to be homeless (and definitely not an arsonist) and asks for a bed for the night. Despite his fears about the recent attacks, Biedermann is easily intimidated and persuaded into letting the man stay. Schmitz quickly exposes Biedermann’s naivety and begins to build a relationship of trust with him. Mrs. Biedermann, however, is far less impressed and appears much more suspicious of the stranger.
As the plot unfolds, a second man, Eisenring (who also insists that he is not an arsonist), arrives at the house, and together the two men begin transferring barrels into the attic. Even though they repeatedly bring barrels of petrol into the house and joke openly about being arsonists, Biedermann desperately tries to appease them and continues to believe their lies. He even helps the men measure the detonating fuse and refuses to confront the horrifying reality of what they are planning.
The family eventually invites the men to a deliberately ‘classless’ and simple dinner in an attempt to further appease them and strengthen relations with the pair, whom Biedermann still insists are innocent. As they drink wine together, the two men finally reveal both their identities and their plan to burn down five houses on the street, including the Biedermanns’ own home. Yet Mr. Biedermann still refuses to believe them. The dinner is interrupted by sirens outside and, while Mrs. Biedermann begins to panic, her husband remains in denial about the danger unfolding around them. As the two men prepare to leave, they ask for matches. Biedermann claims that, if they really were arsonists, they would already have their own matches, so he hands them a box before they walk out the door. Little does he realise that he has become an accomplice in his own downfall. The play ends with his house burning down.
The actors truly set the stage alight and executed the performance brilliantly. What should have been an incredibly dark story was transformed into a sharp, comical, and highly entertaining satire that left the audience erupting into applause at the end. Although this was a local drama performance, the play is staged across the country and continues to tour. The 2026 season has just finished, but it is well worth keeping an eye out for future productions. You do not want to miss it.
Jack Watson is a 17 year-old student in Year 12. You can read his Substack about following Hull City FC here. Follow him on X here.