Kategoria BISAC: Drama >> European - General

"Bahnwarter Thiel" (1988), by far the best story ever written by Gerhart Hauptmann, follows the principles of the Naturalist movement in its detailed study of the life and milieu of a humble and apparently unexceptional Prussian railwayman. Yet in its exploitation of symbolism, of techniques sometimes close to Impressionism, and in its subtle use of a changing narrative perspective, this Novelle goes beyond the essentially 'scientific' Naturalist approach: Hauptmann thus succeeds in exploring the complex interaction of suppressed social, psychological, physiological, and religious impulses...

One of the greatest comedies in French theatre history, Beaumarchais' Le Mariage de Figaro is a dynamic text of humour and social satire which still works well on stage today, and was the inspiration for Mozart's opera.Although ostensibly set in Spain, the play satirises certain abuses and attitudes prevalent in France during the turbulent years just before the French Revolution.The play's treatment of moral themes and its strong, resourceful female characters make it as vital work of literature and theatre, as relevant today as when it was written two centuries ago.
This edition...

This completely new edition reproduces the original unexpurgated
'Schauspiel', and provides and Introdution and Notes fully geared to
the needs of modern students.

The theatrical genius of Nikolay Gogol has gone largely unappreciated by English-speaking audiences because pedantically literal translations have left his plays virtually unperformable. These fresh translations restore the vitality of Gogol's language and humor, finally allowing his dramatic art to speak directly to Western readers, directors, actors, and theater-goers. This volume contains The Government Inspector and Marriage - Gogol's greatest full-length plays, comedic cornerstones of the Russian theatrical repertoire - and a one-act satire, The Gamblers. Also included are writings on...

This is a Russian text with English introduction and notes.

Cyrano de Bergerac struck a responsive chord when first performed in 1897. Its unashamed glorification of panache, the heroic individualism of a bygone age allied to an unimpeachable ethical code, flattered and soothed a country shaken by war and financial scandals, and low in self-esteem.
With great empathy, the devout Rostand portrays a proud freethinker who, in a world where little can be cured and much has to be endured, is always equal to the situation, at least linguistically. This delicate balance between humour and pathos is an example of the rare genre of comedie...

Georg Buchner is regularly considered the father of modern German drama, and "Woyzeck"
was his most influential work. Beneath the utter simplicity of its
basic story, there are complex themes of human motivation,
victimisation, guilt, class structure, and the meaning and nature of
existence. This edition incorporates the recent research on the text,
and provides full Introduction and Notes.

Chekhov's penultimate play has inspired a bewildering variety of interpretations since its premiere at the Moscow Arts Theatre on 31 January 1901. Three Sisters has been viewed both as tragedy and as comedy, as a poignant testimony to the eternal yearning for love, happiness, beauty and meaning, and as a devastating indictment of the folly of inert gentility and vacuous day-dreaming. Its characters have been deemed worthy embodiments of the universal 'human condition', keenly experiencing hope, disappointment, frustration, loneliness and the passage of time - or passive products of...

The novel "Woe From Wit" by the writer and satirist, Griboyedov, is part of the Bristol Classical Press Russian texts series. The series is designed to meet the needs of the fast-growing A Level and undergraduate market for texts in the Russian language. Each text comes with English notes and vocabulary, and with an introduction by an editor with an expert knowledge both of the work and of its literary and cultural context.

A critical edition of "Le Misanthrope." The introduction examines the interlocking levels of comedy apparent both in the play's literary texture and in the original performance, and discusses the history of its reception, showing how it is constantly adapted to the values of changing times.

Uncle Vania is Chekhov's best loved and perhaps his best composed play, yet this is the first book to be solely devoted to it in any language. Donald Rayfield brings his twenty years of research and writing and a century of others' critical studies to focus on Chekhov's art. He offers a close reading and interpretation of the play, paying special attention to the way in which it evolved from its prototype, the rarely performed comedy The Wood Demon.
This study of Chekhov's emergence as a dramatist of genius will be invaluable to students of drama, for here, for the first...

Gogol's most remarkable exercise in the genre of the absurd.

This is a title in the Bristol Classical Press French Texts series, in French with English notes, vocabulary and introduction. Chiefly known as leader of the "Theatre du Quotidien" school, Vinaver has forged a dramatic idiom which is both original and accessible. This volume includes three of his representative "chamber" plays, chosen to exemplify his personal approach both to dialogue and problems of dramatic structure. The introduction provides an account of Vinaver's place in the French theatre of the 1990s, as well as guidance on how to approach the staging of his dialogue.

Gogol's "The Government Inspector" must be one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted plays in the history of drama. This work shows the wisdom, humour and subtlety that is missing in many English translations. The work is part of a series aimed at school and university students.

A critical edition of Racine's "Phedre." The introduction
examines the central facets of the play's enduring capacity to move and
disturb its audience and readers, and includes a survey of 20th century
productions. There is a section on versification and language, and a
glossary is included.

This useful student edition contains the complete French text of the play along with a substantial Introduction and Commentary also in French.