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Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Moliere's comic masterpiece about an irreclaimable hypocrite - one of the most famous French plays of all time. The pious Tartuffe is lodging with Orgon and his family, ingratiating himself with both his host and his host's mother to such a degree that both are blinded to his true – rather less virtuous – designs. Like marrying Orgon's daughter Mariane, whilst seducing his wife, Elmire. This English version of Tartuffe, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Martin Sorrell.

NHB Drama Classics

Tartuffe

Drama Classics: the World's Great Plays at a Great little Price Alfred Jarry's trilogy of plays about the comically grotesque character of Pa Ubu, satirising power, greed, and bourgeois pretension. The Ubu Plays ( King Ubu, Cuckold Ubu and Slave Ubu) caused scandal when they first appeared in Paris in the 1890s, with their surreal and frequently obscene energy, and their broad parodies of Shakespeare. They have since acquired cult status in European drama, and are seen by some as harbingers of modernism. In King Ubu ( Ubu roi, first performed in Paris in 1896), Pa Ubu is a cowardly hanger-on at the court of Good King Wenceslas of Baloney. Nagged by his fearsome wife Ma Ubu, he gathers a band of Barmpots and seizes the throne. But Ubu soon turns into a tyrant, debraining anyone who disagrees with him, murdering all the aristocrats and middle classes and extorting triple taxes from the peasants. When Ma Ubu runs off with a handsome soldier, his downfall suddenly seems inevitable... Cuckold Ubu ( Ubu cocu) is the darkest and most surreal of the plays. Pa Ubu takes up residence in the home of Peardrop, a breeder of polyhedra, and he and his Barmpots tyrannise the neighbourhood, despite the efforts of Pa Ubu's Conscience and Peardrop to stop them. In Slave Ubu ( Ubu enchaȋné) Pa Ubu decides that he has had enough of tyranny, and that the only way to be free is to become a slave, with unpredictable results. Also included is the short sketch Up Ubu ( Ubu sur la butte), comprising scenes and sequences from Ubu roi, with added songs. This volume of The Ubu Plays, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, contains fresh and performable English translations by Kenneth McLeish, as well as an introduction to the plays and a chronology of Jarry's life.

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Set in a country weighed down by political, ideological and spiritual stagnation, Chekhov's compelling early play is rooted in the revolutionary atmosphere of Russia at the turn of the 20th century. Anton Chekhov's play Ivanov was first performed in 1887 at the Korsh Theatre in Moscow. This English version, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine, with notes on Further Reading, a Chronology and a Pronunciation Guide.

Ivanov

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Restless and discontented in her marriage, Hedda Gabler is drawn to a former admirer, Lovborg, now a brilliant writer. But he is more taken with Hedda's old schoolfriend. Driven by jealousy, Hedda destroys Lovborg and his precious manuscript and, finally, herself. This English version of Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler, published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Kenneth McLeish.

Hedda Gabler

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A classically bawdy Restoration Comedy, widely regarded as one of the filthiest and funniest plays ever written. The City of London in the seventeenth century. Harry Horner wants to seduce as many women as possible, but he needs to convince their husbands that he's physically incapable of any such thing. Cannily, his faux impotence also allows him to sniff out and unmask those respectably virtuous ladies who secretly ache for him. William Wycherley's The Country Wife was first performed in January 1675, by the King's Company, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

The Country Wife

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Celestina, madam of the local brothel, is commissioned by a nobleman to help him seduce a beautiful young woman. Using all her wiles and with the help of two greedy servants she goes about weaving her spells... with tragic results. Fernando de Rojas' play Celestina has been a pivotal work of European culture since 1499, when it was first performed, and the character of the ever resourceful procuress Celestina has inspired artists from Goya to Picasso. This version of Celestina, translated by John Clifford, was first performed at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2004, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. This edition of the play, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, includes an introduction by John Clifford.

Celestina

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Ibsen's great play about idealism and liberalism undermined by a deeply conservative society. When Rosmer abandons his faith after the death of his wife, his former friends question his morality. But with guilty secrets and deception surrounding everyone, there are tragic results. Henrik Ibsen's play Rosmersholm was first published in 1886 and first staged in 1887. This edition, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated by Kenneth McLeish, with an introduction by Stephen Mulrine.

Rosmersholm

A two-part version of Goethe's great work, retaining the mighty scope, linguistic daring and philosophical intricacy of the original. God and Mephistopheles make a bet on who can win the soul of Dr Faust. The good doctor signs a contract that offers him boundless knowledge and sensual gratification – but on one condition... This version of Faust by Howard Brenton was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1995.

Faust: Parts I & II

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Hecuba, deposed queen of Troy, has seen her husband humiliated, her son murdered and her daughter sacrificed. Her grief turns to anger and she enacts a bloody vengeance on those responsible for the destruction of her family. This English translation of Euripides' classic tragedy, published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Marianne McDonald.

Hecuba

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A fresh, performable version by John Clifford of Goethe's 'unstageable' masterpiece. God and Mephistopheles vie for the mortal soul of Dr Faust. Signing a pact with the nihilistic spirit, Faust is privy to knowledge unbound and sensual delights of which most men can only dream. But before long, the Doctor comes to realise that you should always be very careful what you wish for. Goethe began working on Faust in about 1772-5. He published a first fragment of it in 1790, then the whole of Part One in 1808. He saw the first performance of Part One in Brunswick in 1829, and was still making minor revisions to Part Two shortly before his death in March 1832. This two-part English version by John Clifford, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, was first performed at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in February 2006.

Faust Parts 1 & 2

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Strindberg's chilling anatomy of a marriage, in which the two partners duel with each other until one is utterly defeated. Edgar and Alice, embittered husband and wife, live on an army base on a Swedish island. Alice calls it 'Little Hell', and it's about to get worse. Written in 1900 and consisting of two full-length plays, August Strindberg's The Dance of Death is full of destruction and bitterness, laced with grim humour. Both parts are included in this volume – though usually only the first is staged. This English version of The Dance of the Death in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series is translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine.

The Dance of Death

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Dryden's 1677 play All for Love is a version of the Antony and Cleopatra story, told as a heroic tragedy. Antony and Octavius Caesar are struggling for control of what was to become the Roman Empire. Antony and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, are lovers and political allies, but their forces have been defeated at the battle of Actium. The play is set in Alexandria, under siege by Octavius Caesar. This edition in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series is edited and introduced by Trevor R. Griffiths.

All for Love

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price The tale of an impassioned, childless woman living with her husband in rural Spain. Tortured by her incessant longing to conceive a child, Yerma is driven by madness to commit a heinous crime. Federico García Lorca's play Yerma was first performed in 1934. This English translation by Jo Clifford is published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series. The edition also includes an introduction by Jo Clifford, a chronology and suggestions for further reading.

Yerma

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Molière's story of a covetous old miser, obsessively protecting his hoard of gold and neglecting his long-suffering children. Harpagon is obsessed with the wealth he has amassed and always ready to save expenses. Now a widower, he has a son, Cléante, and a daughter, Élise. Although he is over sixty, he is attempting to marry his son's own sweetheart, Mariane. But it seems that Harpagon's pinchpenny paranoia is finally catching up with him – his gold is missing, and this time it might really have disappeared for good... The Miser was first performed in 1668, at the theatre of the Palais-Royal, Paris. This English version, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classic series, is translated and introduced by Martin Sorrell.

The Miser

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A masterpiece by one of the greatest writers of the Spanish Golden Age. When the people of the town of Fuente Ovejuna revolt against their tyrannical overlord and murder him, the authorities attempt to find out who is responsible, leading to one of the most memorable acts of resistance in world drama. First published in Madrid in 1619, Lope de Vega's play Fuente Ovejuna is believed to have been written between 1612 and 1614. This edition in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series is an English translation by Laurence Boswell.

Fuente Ovejuna

'One no more owes one's beauty to a lover, than one's wit to an echo.' With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the republican ban on organised theatre was lifted – and plays exploded back onto the public stage with newfound relish. The arrival of actresses for the first time encouraged a great sense of release, which expressed itself in the form of sophisticated comedies exploring the sexual behaviour and moralities of society. This volume features three of the most popular Restoration Comedies: The Country Wife by William Wycherley - a supremely bawdy comedy in which the aptly named Horner pretends to be a eunuch in order to seduce women under the noses of their husbands. The Way of the World by William Congreve - a brilliant comedy of manners, complete with dashing suitor, rich heiress and vengeful aunt. The Rover by Aphra Behn - the classic Restoration comedy by one of the earliest and most celebrated female playwrights. There is also a full introduction about the plays, playwrights and the period, and a glossary of unfamiliar words. The Drama Classic Collections bring together the most popular plays from a single author or a particular period. They offer students, actors and theatregoers a series of uncluttered, accessible editions, accompanied by comprehensive introductions.

Restoration Comedy: Three Plays

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A tragic tale of duty, retribution and fate. King Agamemnon, on returning from the Trojan Wars, is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Now, to avenge the crime, their daughter Electra must commit one even worse and face the inevitable consequences. This edition of Sophocles' play Electra, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton.

Electra

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price García Lorca's passionate, lyrical tale of longing and revenge: a twentieth century masterpiece. Translated from the Spanish and introduced by one of Scotland's finest playwrights, Jo Clifford.

Blood Wedding

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Arthur Schnitzler's famous 'daisy-chain' play of sexual coupling, set in Vienna in the 1890s. La Ronde is a play of ten scenes, each depicting a couple in a sexual liaison. There are ten characters altogether, each appearing in two adjacent scenes, forming an endless chain of sexual links across all the layers of Viennese society. This edition, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, features a translation by Stephen Unwin and Peter Zombory-Moldovan.

La Ronde

A Drama Classic: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A classic Restoration comedy by one of the earliest and most celebrated female playwrights. Arriving in Naples at carnival time, a group of exiled cavaliers determine to enjoy themselves. They are repeatedly tempted and tricked by various prostitutes and their pimps, until their leader, the Rover, is finally forced to give up his wild behaviour when he falls in love with a single-minded, wealthy virgin. Aphra Behn's The Rover was first performed at the Dorset Garden Theatre, London, in March 1677. This edition in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series is edited and introduced by Simon Trussler.

NHB Drama Classics

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