Зарубежная драматургия
Различные книги в жанре Зарубежная драматургияSpring Awakening
“Spring Awakening” is German playwright’s Frank Wedekind’s controversial and shocking drama of sexuality and repression. First performed in 1906 in Berlin, though written by Wedekind several years earlier, the play focuses on the lives on several adolescents coming of age in late nineteenth century Germany. Three teenage boys, Melchior, Moritz, and Wendl, and girls Wendla and Martha, struggle with abuse, a lack of information and acceptance, and their emerging sexual awareness in a strict and religious society. Wedekind believed the sexual and religious repression of German society led to dangerous and heartbreaking consequences. The play does not shy away from difficult subjects and explicitly deals with themes of sexual abuse, rape, teenage desire, abortion, suicide, and homosexuality. In the beginning the play was been heavily censored and rarely performed. When it was brought to New York in 1917 for the first time it was only permitted to be performed once for a special, invited audience. “Spring Awakening” was largely forgotten until it was adapted into a musical to critical acclaim a century after its debut. Wedekind’s haunting and tragic modern masterpiece is as timely and affecting now as it was when first performed. This edition follows the translation of Francis J. Ziegler.
Uncle Vanya
Originally published in 1898 and performed for the first time in Moscow in 1899, “Uncle Vanya” is widely considered one of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s most important dramas. It is the tale of the visit of Serebryakov, a retired professor and his new, young wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that had belonged to Serebyrakov’s late first wife and that supports the couple in their urban lifestyle. The estate is run by Serebryakov’s adult unmarried daughter, Sonia, and her Uncle Vanya, brother to the late first wife. Essentially a reworking of another Chekhov play from a decade earlier, “The Wood Demon”, “Uncle Vanya” is a melancholic study in bitterness and regret as the characters reflect on their respective failures to accomplish their lives’ ambitions. Tensions and resentments boil over and Uncle Vanya is pushed to his breaking point when Serebryakov considers selling the estate so he may put the money in more lucrative investments with no thought to the lives he will displace in the process. A classic tragicomedy, “Uncle Vanya” has been praised as one of Chekhov’s most important plays ever since its first performance and continues to be revered and studied to this day. This edition follows the translation of Marian Fell and includes a biographical afterword.
She Stoops to Conquer
First performed in 1773, “She Stoops to Conquer” is the timeless comedic drama by Anglo-Irish author Oliver Goldsmith. The play depicts the story of Charles Marlow, a wealthy young man who is promised in marriage to a woman, Kate Hardcastle, that he has never met. While he is eager to meet her and is travelling to her home with his friend, George Hastings, Charles is quite shy in the company of women of wealth. He prefers those of a lower class and whenever in the company of such women he transforms into a bold and lecherous rogue. Learning of Charles’ shyness before his arrival at her home, Kate pretends to be a serving-maid in order to win his affections. Kate succeeds at her ruse and soon Charles falls in love with her and is ready to elope until the sudden appearance of his father reveals Kate’s artifice. Soon all is resolved and the young lovers are soon married. Charles’ friend George also finds love in the Hardcastle home in this comedic gem. Full of bawdy dialogue and hilarious scenes, “She Stoops to Conquer” is a charming and light-hearted play that has entertained audiences for over two hundred years. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Life is a Dream
The death of Pedro Calderon de la Barca near the end of the 17th century marked the end of Spain’s Golden Age of literary and artistic excellence. Pedro Calderon de la Barca immense popularity and mastery of Spanish drama has earned him notoriety as the national dramatist of Spain. Although he came from a family of lower nobility, his theater is often associated with the royal court, as he presented many plays in the palace of Philip IV. His best known work, “Life Is a Dream”, borrows material from several other sources and transforms it into a masterful philosophical drama. The story of King Basil of Poland and his son, Segismund, is a complex and improbable plot featuring themes of the awakened sleeper, Christian grace, pagan superstition, and the popular Spanish theme of God’s grace revealing nobility. This play has been translated and performed in many different languages, and it remains an unquestioned masterpiece of world theater. This edition follows the classic translation of Edward Fitzgerald.
R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
We have Czech writer Karel Čapek to thank for the invention of the word robot and generally for the introduction of the idea of artificial intelligence to the world of literature. His play, “R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)” was written in 1920 and was first performed in 1921. The play was an instant success and was translated into over 30 languages within two years of its first performance. The play begins in a factory that makes the “robots”, which could be more accurately described as cyborgs, since they are more living creature than machine. “R. U. R.” envisions a future where robots have become universal and all of humanity is now dependent on the labor that they provide, which remains a timely subject even one hundred years later. At first, everything seems perfect and the robots are happy to serve humans until the robots are later stirred into revolt. Čapek’s vision of a dystopian future where humans may be ruled by machines was immediately and profoundly influential on the science fiction genre and to future authors. “R. U. R.” is Čapek’s prophetic and dark dystopian vision of the future which would solidify his place in dramatic history and leave a lasting legacy on modern literature.
Arms and the Man
One of George Bernard Shaw’s most performed and studied plays, “Arms and the Man” is a classic example of Shaw’s comedic wit. First produced in 1894, the play is set during the Serbo-Bulgarian war and tells the story of Raina Petkoff, a young Bulgarian woman, who is engaged to Sergius, a soldier away at war whom she idolizes. While both her father and fiancé are away fighting, Raina, at home with her mother, has a very innocent and romantic idea of war and soldiers. Her views are challenged when she helps Captain Bluntschli, a Swiss mercenary fighting for the Serbian army, to hide from the Russian and Bulgarian troops. After the war ends and both her father and fiancé return home, Raina comes to see that Sergius is not the hero that she had fantasized him to be and she loses some of her naivete. Captain Bluntschli returns to visit Raina, she and Sergius decide not to marry, and Raina and Bluntschli fall in love instead. While humorous and witty, “Arms and the Man” remains a timely and biting social commentary on the foolishness of romanticizing war as wonderful fun. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
An Ideal Husband
First performed in 1895, “An Ideal Husband” is Oscar Wilde’s classic and much-loved comedic drama. The play tells the story of an up-and-coming politician, Sir Robert Chiltern, who tries to hide his secret past from his judgmental wife and the blackmail scheme he is forced to participate in to keep that secret quiet. Lady Chiltern has a very particular idea of what makes the “ideal husband” which leaves her with little tolerance for Sir Robert’s all too human shortcomings and compromises. With his biting wit and brilliant powers of observation, Wilde highlights the moral ambiguity of politicians and the hypocrisy of the British aristocracy. With the help of a complex and fascinating cast of supporting characters, Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern must re-evaluate their moral convictions and what constitutes honor in the private and public sphere. Immediately popular after its first production, “An Ideal Husband” continues to entertain and challenge audiences to this day. Wilde’s play is a first-rate comedy that challenges its audience with the basic theme of morality and the greater standard that seems to fall upon those individuals in the public eye. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
A Doll's House and Other Plays
Collected together here is a selection of six plays by Norway’s most famous playwright, arguably one the greatest playwrights of all-time, Henrik Ibsen. In the first play of the volume, “Pillars of Society”, Ibsen relates the story of Karsten Bernick, whose ambitious plan to connect his small coastal town by railway is jeopardized when his past comes back to haunt him. In the second play, “A Doll’s House”, we have the story of Nora Helmer, who has secretly borrowed a large sum of money to help her husband recover from a serious illness, by forging her father’s signature, and the turmoil that it causes in her life and marriage. The third play, “Ghosts”, is an intense psychological drama concerning Helen Alving, a wealthy widow, and her son Oswald, who suffers the tragic consequences of his late father’s infidelity. In the fourth play, “An Enemy of the People”, Ibsen explores the animosity that can befall someone whose actions, while in the best interest of the public good, threaten the economic well being of a community. Fifthly there is “Hedda Gabler”, the story of a self-centered and manipulative woman who has grown bored of her new marriage to the kind and reliable George. Lastly in “The Master Builder” Ibsen tells the tale of Halvard Solness, a successful small town architect who is encouraged to confront his acrophobia, with tragic consequences. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Everyman and Other Plays
Written in Middle English during the Tudor period, “Everyman” is the most famous example of the medieval morality play. Popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th century, morality plays were allegorical dramas in which the protagonists are met with the personifications of personal attributes and tasked with choosing either a good and godly life or evil. “Everyman” is the archetypal morality play, as the main character, Everyman, represents all of mankind. God, frustrated with the wicked and greedy, sends Death to Everyman and summons him to account for his misdeeds and sins. It was believed that God tallied all of one’s good and evil deeds in life and then one must provide an accounting before God upon one’s death. During Everyman’s pilgrimage to God, he meets many characters, such as Fellowship, Good Deeds, and Knowledge. Everyman asks them all to join him in his journey so that he may improve his reckoning before God. In the end, it is only Good Deeds that stays with him before God and helps Everyman find salvation and eternal life. In addition to “Everyman,” this volume contains several other morality plays from medieval Europe.
Dr. Faustus
“The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus”, more commonly referred to as “Dr. Faustus”, is Christopher Marlowe’s version of the famous legend of a doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Based on the German legend of Johann Georg Faust, a magician of the German Renaissance who reportedly gained his mystical powers by selling his immortal soul to the devil, the Faustian legend has forever come to symbolize the inherent peril in dealing with unscrupulous characters and supernatural forces. Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus” is based primarily upon an anonymous late 16th century work concerning the history of the real life Faust. The influence of the Faustian legend upon literature cannot be overstated. It has quite literally inspired dozens of versions ever since that first 16th century anonymous work, most notably of which is Goethe’s early 19th century version. Marlowe’s work, which is rivaled only by Goethe’s version of the legend, is presented here in this volume in both its 1604 and 1616 versions.