The President (play)

The President (German: Der Präsident) is a play by Austrian playwright and novelist Thomas Bernhard, first performed in 1975.

[1][2][3] In an unnamed Western European nation, a president and first lady recuperate in their private rooms after a failed anarchist assassination attempt that has killed the President's close ally, The Colonel, and the First Lady's beloved dog.

Throughout the play, the President and First Lady monologize at great length, with the other characters only making very occasional replies.

The President took place against the background of a wave of political assassinations in Western Europe, most notably that of Luis Carrero Blanco (Prime Minister of Spain) in 1973; its premiere coincided with the Stammheim trial of leaders of the Red Army Faction (Baader–Meinhof Group).

[4] The character of the First Lady was inspired by Bernhard's longtime friend Gerda Maleta.