Frisch, Max Rudolf (1911-1991)

Swiss dramatist. Inspired by Brecht, his early plays such as Als der Krieg zu Ende war/When the War Is Over (1949) are more romantic in tone than his later symbolic dramas, such as Andorra (1962), dealing with questions of identity. He also wrote Biedermann und die Brandstifter/The Fire Raisers (1958). Some of his plays were originally written for radio. They show a concern with the moral and political problems of the time.

Frisch was born in Zürich. He worked as a journalist and later trained as an architect. He made a name for himself with the novel Stiller/I'm Not Stiller 1945, which deals with the life of a schizophrenic sculptor, but later became better known for his plays.