Book Review: The Visit

This is probably one of the better-written plays I have read this year. Or perhaps it was the one that had engaged the most. It was a little like the ‘Crucible’ in the fact that it was such an intense piece of theatre that I had to read it in stages. It is a very dark play and talks about themes of poverty, wealth, desperation, loss and revenge. There is a lot to unpack here in this tragedy, ‘The Visit’ by Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

The play is about Claire, a wealthy billionaire who is visiting the town where she grew up. The town is impoverished and in dire need of funds to rebuild and inject some much-needed life into its people. Alfred, who was once a lover of Claire, is tasked with wooing Claire into offering a large donation. While Claire does offer the money, it comes at a terrible price: his death.

The tension in this play is paramount and slowly builds. Alfred is the one who bears the brunt of it. At first, in the beginning, with the pressure to win Claire over and then dealing with the pressure from the townspeople who are slowly racking up debt throughout the town as they believe the money is coming. You can see the mob mentality slowly taking over the town as the scent of money and financial freedom is in the air. It festers, and as it does, so goes the mental decline of Alfred.

It is a really interesting look at power. Claire is there for justice against Alfred for a wrong that was committed against her years before. Then, as a young girl, she was not in a position of power; now, the power dynamics have changed. Gone is the young poor girl, whose word was not taken seriously, most likely due to sexism and her social status and yet the power has now changed hands. Claire holds all the cards. But what we do notice is that Claire is not the same as she once was. She has lost much of who she is, both physically and mentally. Innocence had died in her a long time ago, and slowly her power is deteriorating; she has lost hands, arms and legs, all replaced by prosthetics. While it is awfully ableist, the symbolism is that she is no longer human; she is unrecognisable.

An unusual play to say the least, and one I would wish to see live because id like to see how a director handles the ableism, the corruption of power and sexism. Deliciously juicy topics to explore.