The Vaněk plays are a set of plays in which the character Ferdinand Vaněk is central. Vaněk first appeared in the play Audience by Václav Havel. He subsequently appeared in three other plays by Havel (Protest, Unveiling, and Dozens of Cousins), as well as plays by his friends and colleagues, including Pavel Landovský and Tom Stoppard.
Today, the Vaněk plays are among Havel's best-known works. In English, they are principally known through the translations of Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz.
Ferdinand Vaněk first appeared in the play Audience in 1975 as a stand-in for Havel. Vaněk, like Havel, was a dissident playwright, forced to work in a brewery because his writing has been banned by the Czechoslovak Communist regime. In the course of the play, it becomes clear that the brewmaster has been asked to spy on him. A long, rambling, comic dialogue proceeds, in the course of which the brewmaster eventually becomes a sympathetic figure, rather than a villain.
Since Havel's work was banned, the play was not performed in any theater. Instead, it was performed in living rooms and distributed as samizdat. However, the work became quite well known in the Czech Republic, in part because of a widely circulated radio production of Audience.[1]
Subsequent to 'Audience', Havel used Vaněk in the plays Unveiling, a comic one-act about a couple who desperately want Vaněk to absolve them for their collaborative relationship with the Communist regime, and Protest, in which Vaněk tries to convince an old colleague to sign a protest letter.
Further Vaněk playsedit
Havel's Czech friends Pavel Landovský, Pavel Kohout, and Jiří Dienstbier all wrote subsequent plays starring Vaněk, and the character became a national symbol.[2] Subsequent plays by other authors have also featured Vaněk, such as Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll, which addressed the importance of music in Czechoslovakia, and Edward Einhorn's The Velvet Oratorio, which imagined Vaněk during the Velvet Revolution.
Havel himself wrote a short modern sequel to Unveiling entitled Dozens of Cousins in 2010.
^Goetz-Stankiewicz, Markéta. The Vaněk Plays, University of British Columbia Press, 1987.
External linksedit
The Vaněk Plays from Theater 61 Press
April 16, 2024
vaněk, plays, plays, which, character, ferdinand, vaněk, central, vaněk, first, appeared, play, audience, václav, havel, subsequently, appeared, three, other, plays, havel, protest, unveiling, dozens, cousins, well, plays, friends, colleagues, including, pavel. The Vanek plays are a set of plays in which the character Ferdinand Vanek is central Vanek first appeared in the play Audience by Vaclav Havel He subsequently appeared in three other plays by Havel Protest Unveiling and Dozens of Cousins as well as plays by his friends and colleagues including Pavel Landovsky and Tom Stoppard Today the Vanek plays are among Havel s best known works In English they are principally known through the translations of Marketa Goetz Stankiewicz Contents 1 Origins 2 Further Vanek plays 3 References 4 External linksOrigins editFerdinand Vanek first appeared in the play Audience in 1975 as a stand in for Havel Vanek like Havel was a dissident playwright forced to work in a brewery because his writing has been banned by the Czechoslovak Communist regime In the course of the play it becomes clear that the brewmaster has been asked to spy on him A long rambling comic dialogue proceeds in the course of which the brewmaster eventually becomes a sympathetic figure rather than a villain Since Havel s work was banned the play was not performed in any theater Instead it was performed in living rooms and distributed as samizdat However the work became quite well known in the Czech Republic in part because of a widely circulated radio production of Audience 1 Subsequent to Audience Havel used Vanek in the plays Unveiling a comic one act about a couple who desperately want Vanek to absolve them for their collaborative relationship with the Communist regime and Protest in which Vanek tries to convince an old colleague to sign a protest letter Further Vanek plays editHavel s Czech friends Pavel Landovsky Pavel Kohout and Jiri Dienstbier all wrote subsequent plays starring Vanek and the character became a national symbol 2 Subsequent plays by other authors have also featured Vanek such as Tom Stoppard s play Rock n Roll which addressed the importance of music in Czechoslovakia and Edward Einhorn s The Velvet Oratorio which imagined Vanek during the Velvet Revolution Havel himself wrote a short modern sequel to Unveiling entitled Dozens of Cousins in 2010 References edit The Vanek Plays Introduction Goetz Stankiewicz Marketa The Vanek Plays University of British Columbia Press 1987 External links editThe Vanek Plays from Theater 61 Press Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vanek plays amp oldid 1132078915, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
