SWITZERLAND
A psychological thriller on Patricia Highsmith by Joanna Murray-Smith
Playing from 3rd September 2020
It’s 1995 in the Swiss Alps and the reclusive grande dame of crime literature Patricia Highsmith lives with an impressive collection of books, and a somewhat sinister collection of guns and knives. She finds solace in her solitude, her cats, and cigarettes. But when a mysterious international visitor arrives at her perfectly secluded home, her love of fictional murders becomes a dangerous reality. What first appears to be a standard cat-and-mouse game of wit and schemes, soon becomes a dance to the death. Who is the cat and who is the mouse? And… who will make it out of Switzerland alive? A chilling and hilarious story about a relationship the author had with her alter-ego; a gripping insight into the mind of one of the most revered 20th century writers.
1995: Patricia Highsmith, die Grande Dame der Kriminalliteratur, lebt umgeben von Büchern und einer etwas absonderlichen Sammlung von Messern und Waffen zurückgezogen in den Schweizer Alpen. Sie findet Zufriedenheit in der Einsamkeit – allein mit ihren Katzen und ihren Zigaretten. Ein mysteriöser Besucher bringt dieses Gleichgewicht ins Wanken. Ihre Liebe zu fiktiven Morden vermengt sich scheinbar mit der Realität. Ein Katz-und-Maus-Spiel bis zum bitteren Ende beginnt…
Eine schaurig-komische Geschichte über Patricia Highsmith und die Beziehung zu ihrem Oeuvre; ein fesselnder Einblick in den Geist einer der berühmtesten Schriftstellerinnen des 20. Jahrhunderts.
A gripping psychological thriller. Creeps up on you and then has you on the edge of your seat. Sunday TelegraphJoanna Murray-Smith demonstrates a Stoppardian gift for pithily combining intelligence, wit and pathos. Independent
An act of identification: one writer wrestling with a creation, wrestling with her most famous creation of all. The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s impossible to know what Highsmith herself would have made of the play. But it’s not hard to imagine her delighting in its intelligence, humour, darkness and gentle unravelling. It’s a truly great play. Daily Review (Australia).
