The Island of Slaves

(Paperback)

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Description

What will become of us Four people, the sole survivors of a shipwreck, crawl out of the sea. Two of them are masters, and two of them are servants: and all four are about to discover what life feels like when the boot is on the other foot. Marivaux's potent mix of laughter, emotion and theatrical game-playing makes him one of the most surprising and most modern of all classic playwrights. Neil Bartlett has translated, but also directs this brilliant comedy of role-swapping and redemption, opening at the Lyric Hammersmith in April 2002. Oberon Books also publish Marivaux's The Dispute, which was an award-winning production at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 1999.

Reviews

" ""[Bartlett's] translation finds the barbs in Marivaux's dainty wit; the production has the elegance of a smart cocktail party."""

Author Bio

He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing numerous comedies for the Comedie-Francaise and the Comedie-Italienne of Paris. His most important works are Le Triomphe de l'amour (The Triumph of Love), Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard (The Game of Love and Chance) and Les Fausses Confidences (False Admissions). He also published a number of essays and two important but unfinished novels, La Vie de Marianne and Le Paysan parvenu. Neil Bartlett is one of his generation's most respected and innovative theatre directors. His highly individual translations of French and German classical theatre, and charcteristically theatrical adaptations of Dickens, most of them originated while he was Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith in London, have been played around the world. His plays have premiered at the Royal Court, at the Manchester International Festival and at the National Theatre in London.