Marieluise Fleißer

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German stamp issued in 2001 in the Women in German history series
German stamp issued in 2001 in the Women in German history series

Marieluise Fleißer (born November 23, 1901 in Ingolstadt, died February 2, 1974 in Ingolstadt) was a German author and playwright.

Fleißer had a brief period of fame in the 1920s, and was rediscovered in the 1970s by a later generation, among them the theatre director Peter Stein and the playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz.

Her best known works are two plays, Purgatory in Ingolstadt (1924) and Pioneers in Ingolstadt (1926). Bertolt Brecht persuaded the director Moriz Seeler to stage the first play, which Seeler retitled; Fleisser's original title was The Washing of Feet. Brecht then encouraged her to write Pioneers. Premiered in Berlin, the plays caused a scandal, especially in her home town, and were attacked by the Nazis, who had not yet come to power.

The plays were given their London premieres at the Gate Theatre, London, in 1990, directed by Annie Castledine and Stephen Daldry.

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