Max Frisch
Frisch's dramas up until the early 1960s are divided by the literary commentator into three groups: (1) the early wartime pieces, (2) the poetic plays such as "" ("Don Juan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie") and (3) the dialectical pieces. It is above all with this third group, notably the parable "The Fire Raisers" (1953), identified by Frisch as a "lesson without teaching", and with "Andorra" (1961) that Frisch enjoyed the most success. Indeed, these two are among the most successful German language plays. The writer nevertheless remained dissatisfied because he believed they had been widely misunderstood. In an interview with Heinz Ludwig Arnold Frisch vigorously rejected their allegorical approach: "I have established only that when I apply the parable format, I am obliged to deliver a message that I actually do not have". After the 1960s Frisch moved away from the theatre. His late biographical plays "" ("Biografie: Ein Spiel") and "" were apolitical but they failed to match the public success of his earlier dramas. It was only shortly before his death that Frisch returned to the stage with a more political message, with "Jonas and his Veteran", a stage version of his arresting dialogue "Switzerland without an army? A Palaver".
George Robert Sims
Sims wrote over thirty plays, but most of them were adapted from European pieces. His first hit play, "Crutch and Toothpick", based on a French farce by Labiche, was produced at the Royalty Theatre in 1879 and enjoyed a run for 240 nights. In 1881, he wrote the even more successful melodrama, "The Lights o' London", produced by Wilson Barrett at the Princess's Theatre, London. This ran for 286 nights and toured in the British provinces, as well as earning record ticket sales in America. It went on to tour continuously in Europe and elsewhere through World War I. Next, at the Princess's, in 1882, was "Romany Rye", another hit. In the early 1880s, Sims became the first playwright to have four plays running simultaneously in West End theatres. He also had a dozen touring companies playing his works by that time. He collaborated on many of his plays, and his co-authors included Barrett, Sydney Grundy and Clement Scott.