The Old Lady's Visit

When the elderly lady returns to the town of her childhood after a life full of adventure, the people of Güllen believe they’ve hit the jackpot. Claire Zachanassian is so rich that she could easily save the run-down little town from ruin. They are a little puzzled by the strange characters in Zachanassian’s entourage, who even has a panther in her luggage. But the people’s tolerance knows no bounds, as long as they can hope for a win. Indeed, Zachanassian holds out the prospect of vast sums of money for them. But her offer comes at a price, for the old lady harbours a dark secret. The past catches up with Güllen and puts the attitudes of its inhabitants to a merciless test.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s gripping tragicomedy THE VISIT poses uncomfortable questions about morality, justice and human venality, questions that have lost none of their urgency.

Barbara-David Brüesch’s opulent St. Gallen production, featuring 16 speaking roles and over 20 chorus members, brings our anniversary celebrations marking the 75th birthday of the Kurtheater to a close. This brings things full circle in a wonderful way: for it was with a production from St. Gallen that the Kurtheater began its season in 1952.

○ “The St. Gallen Theatre delights with a dialect version of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s THE VISIT: Barbara-David Brüesch stages the classic in a manner that is as amusing as it is unsettling.” St. Galler Tagblatt

The Visit | St. Gallen Concert and Theatre