Dirt (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought. Translation Series)

Schneider's play about prejudice and anti-foreign sentiment has become one of the most frequently performed works on the contemporary German stage. -- A man walks onto the stage with a bouquet of roses in his hand. He begins to speak. The man's name is Sad - he is an Arab. In the evenings he sells roses to finance his studies. The hatred of the population towards him is so intense that he begins to turn on himself. 'That's correct,' he says, 'I am dirty.' The intensity of the monologue increases; it becomes passionate, desperate. He continues to speak. He screams. Screams for his life.