Description

A relaxing vacation turns into a devastating journey fraught with intrigue and suspicion in August Strindberg’s 1888 drama Creditors. Seeking fresh air and a change of scene, a sculptor and his wife arrive at a hotel by the ocean. A writer, also staying at the resort, seems to take a particular interest in the couple. Under the pretense of friendship, the writer begins spending time with the sculptor. But as the unsuspecting sculptor soon realizes, the writer has no friendly intentions towards him at all. The mysterious stranger seems to wield a strange power over the other man, causing him to question his art and his marriage until he falls into a serious crisis of identity. What could the mysterious stranger possibly want from his hapless victim? Readers and theater-goers for over a century have been shocked by the dark truths at the heart of this powerful play.

About the Author

Born in Sweden to a comfortable family, August Strindberg (1849-1912) was educated at elite private schools before attending college. He worked in a chemist’s shop and dabbled in teaching for brief period while still in school, alternately leaving and then returning to his studies in chemistry and medicine. Perhaps a turning point in his life, Strindberg took an opportunity to work as an extra with the Royal Theater in Stockholm, and from then on resolved to become a playwright. Strindberg plunged into a literary life, turning out plays, founding a literary club, and writing for newspapers in Stockholm. Outspoken and progressive, often critical of authority in any form, Strindberg was a distinctly modern playwright. His best-known works include Miss Julie, The Dance of Death, A Dream Play, and The Ghost Sonata. Strindberg’s plays remain a challenging but undeniably important presence in the history of European drama.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

ADOLPH. [At work on a wax figure on a miniature modelling stand; his crutches are placed beside him]--and for all this I have to thank you!
GUSTAV. [Smoking a cigar] Oh, nonsense!
ADOLPH. Why, certainly! During the first days after my wife had gone, I lay helpless on a sofa and did nothing but long ...