The Fire Raisers

Max Frisch (trans Michael Bullock)

We Merry Dancers Theatre and HER Productions

Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

March 11-15, 2026; 90 mins

A scene from We Merry Dancers' production of The Fire Raisers at Hope Mill. All pics: company

The Fire Raisers was written in 1953 by a Swiss writer, Max Frisch, and as a play of ideas means every company brings its own version of what it is about.

The director here, Amy Gavin, uses audio messages and chorus comments to point us in the direction of world events in which innocent people are killed; Hiroshima and Gaza. Given the time it was written and recent history, it's possible its about the way liberal democracies are brought down by their enemies. Using the very virtues claimed for the system, such as guilt about the treatment of poor people, the democracy is destroyed. But meaning is in the eye of the beholder; it's that sort of play.

If this sounds a hard watch, then in the hands of a poor cast it certainly could be. Fortunately the cast here is far from poor. The actors treat the words and the action seriously, making the world they create almost seem real. It is a play in the absurd tradition, with a limited fourth wall, but they treat the ideas and the words of the playwright with respect.

Kyle O’Neil as Smitt plays the lead arsonist with aplomb. Shifting happily from mock humility to powerful domination, he uses his considerable bulk to great effect. I wouldn’t like to deny him his bottle of wine from my cellar.

In the role of the ordinary man, Herr Biedermann (Rupert Hill) wears his bowler hat and briefcase to the manner born by the bourgeoisie. He shows perfectly how ordinary folk can be used. He doesn't believe Smitt is telling the truth about the actions he will take, and he convinces himself it can't be possible. Just as in the present political arena, it's hard to believe that what we have been told by a world leader will actually take place...

The sceptical eye of the maid, Anna (Jessica Forrest), shows that not all people are taken in. Her regard for the silver ornaments of the house would bring a tear to the eye of everyone who has employed staff, She sees clearly what good intentions can lead to.

Well staged in a tiny auditorium with minimum props and a Greek chorus of firefighters, the play allows the actors to create a fictional world, which they certainly do, though sometimes the real world does

resemble the fictional one they inhabit.

More info and tickets here