A mysterious stranger appears in a Moscow park. Soon he and his retinue have astonished the locals with the magic show to end all magic shows. But why are they really here; and what has it got todo with the beautiful Margarita; or her lover; the Master; a silenced writer? A carnival for the senses and a diabolical extravaganza; this most exuberant of Russian novels was staged in this adaptation at Chichester Festival Theatre.
#1954113 in eBooks 2004-11-02 2004-11-02File Name: B00EHBSNB6
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Electronic version needs work.By Antonio AgainThe scene work Im doing requires a translation without transcription errors. This electronic version is lacking a crucial word for correct syntax. My director/teacher is insistent that I dont say anything not in the text. So you need to have someone proofread location 173 again and find the error. I wont tell you unless you pay me.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Web of deceptionBy Kerry WaltersIts a pity that Strindberg isnt read much anymore; because his gloomy understanding of human relations; especially between men and women; still has insights to offer. Bergman swore by him; and one could do worse than take Bergman as an acute critic."The Dance of Death;" which many see as one of Strindbergs best; focuses on the marriage of Edgar and Alice on the eve of its silver anniversary. Edgar is a failed career military officer; a bullying; self-absorbed man who lives for his food and drink and seems to have lost sexual interest in his wife. Alice is a one-time actress convinced (probably falsely) that she gave up a promising career to marry Edgar. Kurt; Alices cousin who suddenly moves to the remote island where Edgar is stationed; enters the action early on; and is quickly absorbed into the malevolent atmosphere of Edgar and Alices marriage.And malevolent it is. Both spouses have fallen into the habit of perpetual deceit; lying to one another about everything so incessantly that theyve begun to half-believe their own deceptions. The tissues of lies in which they wrap themselves and one another are both protective insulation and connections: they more they create a false world; the more trapped in it and dependent on one another they become. Alice is perpetually on the point of leaving Edgar. Edgar is perpetually on the point of dying. Both celebrate the potential absence of the other; and both are absolutely terrified of it.Strindberg; then; presents us with the portrait of two people who despise one another and want to be free; but whose personalities and worldviews are so bound up together that they cant really live apart. The prospect is gloomy; which is perhaps why Strindberg wrote a second part to the play; rarely performed; in which the son of Kurt and the daughter of Alice and Edgar seem to make a fresh start; escaping from the older generations poisonous atmosphere. But even here; things are ambiguous. The daughter; Judith; is beginning to show definite Edgar-like traits.