The Seventh volume in the Coward Collection. On Quadrille: "Miss Fontanne plays the madcap Marchioness with thecrackle and sheen of a five-pound note. Her eyes mock marvelously; hervoice cuts like a knife into a wedding cake; and the scene in ActThree; on the eve of her elopement with Mr. Lung; is as delicious ascrushed ice." Evening Standard; 1952. "The idea of Peace in Our Time";Coward wrote "was conceived in Paris shortly after the Liberation. . .I began to suspect that the physical effect of four years intermittentbombing is far less damaging to the intrinsic character of a nationthan the spiritual effect of four years enemy occupation."Thevolume also contains four pieces from the Tonight at 8.30 sequence: WeWere Dancing "provides a marvelously compact illustration of the waythe English public school spirit prevails even in moments of strenuouspassion." "Shadow Play is a musical fantasy. . . which gave Gertie andme a chance to sing as romantically as we could; dance in the moonlightand; we hoped; convince the audience that we were very fascinatingindeed"; and "Family Album - a sly satire on Victorian hypocrisy;adorned with an unobtrusive but agreeable musical score. It wasstylised both in its decor and its performance; was a joy to play andprovided the whole talented company with good parts." Star Chamber;closely based on Cowards experiences trying to co-ordinate his ActorsOrphanage charity committee; is published here for the first time.
#61998 in eBooks 2013-09-25 2013-09-25File Name: B00GM3FEBE
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. good product; quick serviceBy Jay E. Oneygood product; quick service10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Plays with the quality of parablesBy Michael J. Mazza"The Measures Taken and Other Lehrstucke;" by Bertolt Brecht; brings together four theater pieces by this important German playwright. The book is edited by John Willett and Ralph Manheim. Included is an introductory note entitled "The Lehrstuck or Learning-Play;" which is excerpted from an essay by Brecht. The pieces in this book; all of which were written from 1929 to 1930; are as follows:"The Measures Taken;" translated by Carl R. Mueller; is the story of a group of Communist agitators from Moscow who go to spread ... in China. Its a compelling story about the conflict between idealism and doctrinal orthodoxy. "The Exception and the Rule;" translated by Ralph Manheim; is about an expedition headed by an exploitative merchant. Its a story of greed; violence; and law. "He Who says Yes" and "He Who Says No;" both translated by Wolfgang Sauerlander; are a linked pair of plays; each one tells the story of a young mans quest to get medicine for his ailing mother.Overall; the plays have a very ritualized quality; three of them make use of a chorus. The stories told in these plays have the flavor of parables. Overall; I found these pieces very intriguing; particularly in a post-Cold war context.