Russisch & sowjetisch

Reviews from the world premiere of the new translation: <BR> "The most affecting version that I have ever seen of this epochal comedy of discontent.... The first VANYA that brought me to tears and made me laugh in places I never had before." Ben Brantley, The New York Times<BR> "A new and sparkling version."David Barbour, Lighting & Sound America<BR> "[This] trim adaptation...underscores the timeless nature of UNCLE VANYA. The artful simplicity.. and this American interpretation of a Russian classic is very satisfying."Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review<BR> "A spectacular new Vanya..." Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times<BR> "A canny and colloquial translation."James Herbert, San Diego Union-Tribune<BR> "Exquisite new UNCLE VANYA is intimate, resonant... The exquisite translation strips the language to its essence. It's clear and illuminating." Jennifer Vanasco, WNYC, New York<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

"In the play I portray a disgusting, selfish, provincial fellow who for twenty years has been reading works on art but understanding nothing about the subject--a man who brings despondency and gloom to all those near him, who is not accessible to laughter and music--and who, despite all this, is undoubtedly happy."<BR> Anton Chekhov

Based on the novel by Russian writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky (1867-1941), Morlock's dramatic adaptation tells the tragic story of Russian Tsar Peter the Great's conflict with his only surviving son and heir, Tsarevitch Alexis. Peter, an autocrat who was determined to modernize Russia at all costs, dealt brutally with any opposition--but found his most stubborn and potent resistance in his own home in the person of Alexis. This was a battle of wills that could end in only one way, given the nature of the Tsar's personality and the enormous power that he wielded. The ultimate tragedy is that Peter loved his son, and Alexis his father--but neither could find a way in which to reconcile their political differences. Shades of the twenty-first century! A riveting psychodrama.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Das Theaterstück 'Der lebende Leichnam' von Lew Tolstoi (1828 - 1910) basiert auf realen Geschehnissen aus dem Jahre 1900, wurde jedoch erst 1913 postum veröffentlicht und erlangte rasch einen immensen Bekanntheitsgrad. Der Protagonist des Dramas, Fedor Protasow, erkennt die Sinnlosigkeit seiner verlotterten Existenz, trennt sich von seiner Frau und täuscht einen Selbstmord vor, um ihr eine neue Ehe zu ermöglichen. Als der wohlmeinende Schwindel des 'lebenden Leichnams' auffliegt, greift Fedor zu einem radikalen Mittel, um seine Frau und deren neuen Mann aus ihrer unhaltbaren Situation zu befreien.Vermutlich wurde Tolstoi zu dem Stück durch seine eigene angespannte Ehesituation inspiriert, aus der er sich erst unmittelbar vor seinem Tod lösen konnte.

Here are six plays that stand as landmarks of the modern drama:<BR><BR>Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS repeats, in terms of a handful of people, the spasms of a dying society.<BR><BR>Isben’s THE MASTER BUILDER is the tragedy of the modern romantic, caught between desire and reality.<BR><BR>Shaw’s MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION shocked England and America; this play was the first honest attempt in our era to deal with prostitution. <BR><BR>O’Casey’s RED ROSES FOR ME is about a Protestant worker of Dublin who is a symbol of the ravaging conflicts in Ireland—and in man.<BR><BR>Williams’s THE GLASS MENAGERIE is a tender, despairing portrait of two women, one lost in the past, the other in herself.<BR><BR>Miller’s ALL MY SONS is a biting though compassionate, indictment of success through moral betrayal.<BR><BR>We call these plays “modern.” But the they are high art, and are written with devotion to truth, and those two qualities have already made them timeless.