Max Frisch

Max Frisch’s 75th birthday received particular public attention. During the Solothurn Literature Days, which took place from 9 to 11 May 1986, the author listened to several speeches and responded with a much-noticed address to his colleagues: At the end of the Enlightenment stands the Golden Calf, was the title of his highly political speech. According to Frisch, the Enlightenment had failed. My impression: people don’t want to know, they want to believe. […] And what is reasonable is what pays off.

“Where does hope lie?” asks Max Frisch. And he sees a future in “resistance with the aim of ensuring that the spirit of the Enlightenment prevails […] to new and different attempts at coexistence between mature individuals.”[8] He himself, the old man, has grown weary. But one thing remained important to him: friendship.

Max Frisch then continued celebrating with his friends. A few days after the performance in Solothurn, he invited guests to a party at an unusual location. It was to be a circus festival – perhaps an allusion to the travelling life that comes with being a writer, or simply a childlike delight that Frisch had retained. Frisch was a passionate circus-goer. He declared visits to Circus Knie, which performed every year in May – Frisch’s birthday month – at Sechseläutenplatz, to be his private birthday tradition. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, Frisch invited guests to the circus, in keeping with his preferences. With the support of the troupe from Circus Fe.derlos and the help of his secretary Rosemarie Primault, this private party was organised at a location that was initially kept secret.