The Physicists - Softcover

Durrenmatt, Friedrich

3.9

34,479 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802150888 ISBN 13: 9780802150882

Publisher: Grove Press, 1994

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

The Physicists is a provocative and darkly comic satire about life in modern times, by one of Europe’s foremost dramatists and author of the internationally celebrated The Visit.

The world’s greatest physicist, Johann Wilhelm M�bius, is in a madhouse, haunted by recurring visions of King Solomon. He is kept company by two other equally deluded scientists: one who thinks he is Einstein, another who believes he is Newton. It soon becomes evident, however, that these three are not as harmlessly lunatic as they appear. Are they, in fact, really mad? Or are they playing some murderous game, with the world as the stake? For M�bius has uncovered the mystery of the universe and therefore the key to its destruction and Einstein and Newton are vying for this secret that would enable them to rule the earth.

Added to this treacherous combination is the world-renowned psychiatrist in charge, the hunchbacked Mathilde von Zahnd, who has some diabolical plans on her own. . . . With wry, penetrating humor, The Physicists probes beneath the surface of modern existence and, like Marat/Sade, questions whether it is the mad who are the truly insane.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap:

Johann Mobius, the world's greatest physicist, is locked away in a madhouse along with two other scientists. Why? Because he is haunted by recurring visions of King Solomon, and the other two are convinced they are Einstein and Newton. But are these three actually mad? Or are they playing a murdererous game with the world at stake? This darkly comic satire probes the cost of sanity among men of science and whether it is the mad who are the truly sane.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Anne Gee Byrd, Matthew Patrick Davis, Bruce Davison, John de Lancie, Matt Gaydos, Harry Groener, Christopher Guilmet, Melinda Page Hamilton, Gregory Itzin, Roma Maffia and Missy Yager.

The Physicists is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.

From the Back Cover:

The Physicists is a provocative and darkly comic satire about life in modern times, by one of Europe's foremost dramatists and author of the internationally celebrated The Visit.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.