A small impoverished town of a province, where factories have been out of service for a long time, and there are no trains carrying important passengers, is visited by a fabulously rich lady Clara. This town is a place where she grew up but one day left and returned after more than four decades. A multimillionaire Clara, who can financially support the townspeople, is the last hope to restore the town’s prosperity. The old lady agrees to donate one billion francs, but with one condition: justice must be restored in the town by killing one man who broke her heart when she was young.  At first, the townspeople are outraged by the fact considering that they live in a cultural European country which was visited by Goethe, and where Brams created his quartets. However, the rich lady agrees to wait, and gradually the position of people begins to change. They begin to spend more money, seek entertainment, and behave as if the agreement to kill the man has been made, and one billion francs have been granted.

The director Aidas Giniotis attempts to highlight the most important questions raised by the playwright: what is the price of past mistakes and betrayal? what is the price of one man’s life? what is the price of our humanistic ideals and principles? what is the price of justice? and what if it is only a mask that covers our greed and weaknesses?

The Visit is a play, which brought the Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990) worldwide fame. The writer believed that the time of tragedies passed and only comedy could define the tragedy of life nowadays. Dürrenmatt can make one laugh and cry, guffaw, and get horrified like a clown, which demonstrates fascinating tricks on the brink of the abyss.

Premiere –  April 27, 28, and 30, 2019

Duration – 2 hours 50 minutes (with intermission)

The Main Hall

The play is sponsored by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania

 Stage rights by Diogenes Verlag AG Zürich