The Arsonists
Thu 27 – Fri 28 Mar 2025
“It’s not easy these days, lighting a cigarette. Everyone seems to think the world is about to go up in flames…”
Gotlieb Biedermann – husband, homeowner, businessman – is far too clever to be taken in by any so-called ‘arsonist’. In his opinion anyone stupid enough to let someone burn their house down deserves everything they get.
However, before he knows it, his world is turned upside down – two men have moved into his attic, and those oil drums they’ve bought with them smell suspiciously like petrol.
Max Frisch’s gripping play is a darkly comic exploration of the dangers of complacency and the seductive allure of evil and still feels incredibly prescient in this highly polarised 21st Century World.
Because sometimes a single match is all that is needed to set the world ablaze.
Schools Workshop Package:
We will also be offering for schools audiences, alongside our matinee performances, a workshop and Q&A with the cast and creatives of The Arsonists, which will both explore the themes of the play in more detail whilst introducing pupils to the physical theatre, epic theatre, and comedy techniques that underpin the performance. For more information please contact Ben Haslam (HE Curriculum Lead for Performing Arts) @ ben.haslam@ieg.ac.uk
UCP @ The Key – A Takeover Event:
The Arsonists is performed by the Acting for Stage and Screen BA(Hons) students at University Centre Peterborough and serves as part of our wider Key Theatre Takeover Event which brings together Arts, Humanities, Social Science, Digital Arts, Media, and Journalism in a celebration of the young talent we have in this city. There will be digital art installations, poetry events, short film screenings, and much more.
