The Wetsuitman

Foreign Affairs presents

The Wetsuitman
By Freek Mariën
Translated by David McKay

Three actors, twenty-eight characters, and one true story.

It’s 2015 on the coast of Norway. A retired architect finds a wetsuit, and in it, the remains of a body. The detective unit hits one dead end after another – until another body in an identical wetsuit washes up in the Netherlands.

Starting as a Nordic noir, The Wetsuitman playfully and movingly transforms into an exploration of identity, prejudice and forced migration. As one journalist digs deeper into the story behind the Wetsuitman, it becomes an interrogation of the world in which he was washed up and exactly how that could happen.

This timely and important play by award-winning Belgian playwright Freek Mariën takes us on a journey from Norway, through Europe, and to Syria, revealing the devastating truth behind one family’s loss.