The Visit: creation of mood and atmosphere

Setting and Stage Design

The setting of the play, the impoverished town of Güllen, plays a vital role in creating a sombre and tense atmosphere. The gradual transformation of the town from run-down to prosperous as the plot unfolds significantly contributes to the increasing sense of unease and moral decline.
Non-realistic elements such as the dilapidated train station, the forest, the Golden Apostle Hotel, and the town hall each encapsulate varying levels of desperation, hope, decay, and renaissance, amplifying the overall grim mood of social dilemma.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, himself a designer, had a particular taste for abstract and symbolic set designs which add to the unsettling mood of the play. This is seen for example in Claire’s peculiar, fortress-like hotel room.

Use of Light and Colour

Strategic lighting is utilised to amend the mood of scenes—for example, the use of harsh, bright lighting during confrontational moments, and dim lighting suggesting gloom during others.
The colour symbolism also plays into creating the mood and atmosphere. Yellow, the colour of Ill’s shoes and Claire’s hair, initially signifies happiness and prosperity but gradually becomes associated with fear and betrayal, marking a shift in the mood from hopeful to despairing.

Sound and Music

The use of sound, particularly the recurring haunting melodies of the town’s brass band and ominous noises from offstage, enhances the tense and eerie atmosphere.
Furthermore, the sudden and jarring gong sounds, as well as the disturbing laughter of the blind eunuchs, contribute to the surreal and threatening mood encapsulating the play’s progression.

Characterisation and Dialogue

Claire’s monotonous and cold voice, as opposed to the initially hopeful upper tones, the panic-stricken cries, and later resigned acceptance of Ill, greatly amplify the play’s sombre mood and tense atmosphere.
Dialogue is used effectively to set the mood for various scenes. Claire’s crisp and cutting statements contrast with the townsfolk’s stilted and hesitant replies, highlighting the difference in their power dynamics and the grim reality of their predicament.
The chilling casualness with which Claire’s offer is finally accepted, along with the townspeople’s gradual shift in attitude towards Ill, serve to construct an atmosphere rich in terror and moral ambiguity.

Use of Irony and Black Humour

The grim irony of Ill’s fate and the dark humour surrounding the townspeople’s denial of their intentions create an uncomfortable, paradoxical comedic atmosphere, underpinning the depressing reality of humanity’s moral failures.