The Grouch: A Modern Version of The Misanthrope
By (Author) Ranjit Bolt
By (author) Molire
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Oberon Modern Plays
15th February 2008
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
842.4
Paperback
96
Width 130mm, Height 210mm
How I deplore the bogus ways Of society these days - A sort of national contest To find out who can a se-lick best! In this witty cutting version of Le Misanthrope Molires angry hero Alceste becomes Alan - journalist, intellectual and free spirit-who finds himself adrift in a social whirl of false flattery and schmooze. In a world where nobody calls a spade a spade (or even knows what a spade is for), how can the cantankerous but high-minded Alan secure the affections of Celia - a spoiled, feckless, fickle socialite, who happens to be the love of his life The Grouch was first performed at West Yorkshire Playhouse in February 2008
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere (1622-73), the French actor-manager and dramatist, was one of the theatre's greatest comic classics. Inspired by traditions of French farce and the 'commedia dell'arte', he courted controversy with his satiric commentaries on the society of his time and on eternal human foibles, but was saved by the patronage of the 'Sun King' Louis XIV. Born in Manchester in 1959, Ranjit Bolt was educated at Perse School and at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an investment analyst and advisor for eight years, before concentrating on theatre translation from the end of 1990. Ranjit Bolt's acclaimed translations for the theatre, many of which are published by Oberon Books, include works by Moliere, Seneca, Sophocles, Corneille, Beaumarchais, Brecht, Goldoni and Zorilla.