About the work
It's Only the End of the World (French: Juste la fin du monde) is a play by Jean-Luc Lagarce, which he wrote in 1990 while working in Berlin. Lagarce, who was himself HIV-positive, died in 1995 and did not live to see its premiere, which took place only in October 1999 at the Théâtre National de la Colline in Paris. The German-language premiere followed on 8 November 2001 at the Theater Bremen; the play is represented by the theatrical agency Felix Bloch Erben.
Plot
After twelve years without contact, the writer Louis unexpectedly returns to his family to say goodbye, knowing he will soon die of AIDS. But no sooner has he arrived than his mother Martine's anticipation and his quarrels with his brother Antoine dissolve into pent-up grievances and small talk. Amid the constant crossfire of words, Louis never finds a moment to deliver his news and leaves again without having said it.
Cultural significance
The play ranks among the most performed and translated French plays since Lagarce's death and was long assigned as school reading in France; Xavier Dolan filmed it in 2016, and in 2020 Christopher Rüping staged a free adaptation at the Schauspielhaus Zürich that was invited to the 2021 Berlin Theatertreffen.