Daniel Gerould – författare

This play, by Futurist poet Bruno Jasienski, is an outstanding example of the joining of left-wing politics and avant-garde interest in human mechanization that characterized the experimental theatre of Poland in the inter-war years. Stalinism and the purges cut short Jasienski''s career and prevented productions of his play for many years - except for a brilliant constructivist staging in Prague in 1933. The Mannequins'' Ball can now take its place along with Capek''s R.U.R. as one of the major twentieth-century dramas making use of the themes and techniques of human automata. Reproduced in this volume are the eight woodcuts by Moor which accompanied the original Moscow publication in 1931.

This play, by Futurist poet Bruno Jasienski, is an outstanding example of the joining of left-wing politics and avant-garde interest in human mechanization that characterized the experimental theatre of Poland in the inter-war years. Stalinism and the purges cut short Jasienski''s career and prevented productions of his play for many years - except for a brilliant constructivist staging in Prague in 1933. The Mannequins'' Ball can now take its place along with Capek''s R.U.R. as one of the major twentieth-century dramas making use of the themes and techniques of human automata. Reproduced in this volume are the eight woodcuts by Moor which accompanied the original Moscow publication in 1931.

The Polish playwright and artist Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, known as Witkacy, is now recognized as Poland''s leading theatrical innovator of the interwar years and one of the outstanding creative personalities of the European avant-garde. This volume contains two of Witkacy''s "tropical" plays inspired by the playwright''s trip to Ceylon and Australia in 1914 with his close friend, the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski.Mr. Price, or Tropical Madness is a drama of heightened passion and greed among British colonists in Rangoon who seem to have stepped out of Joseph Conrad''s tales of the South Seas.Metaphysics of a Two headed Calf, set in New Guinea and Australia, pits savage European imperialists against a native tribal Australia and pits savage European imperialists against a native tribal chieftain whose fetish of a great golden frog offers greater insight into the mystery of existence than the Westerners'' shallow rationalism. Both plays puncture the white rulers'' poses of superiority and parody their images of the tropical Other. Also included in the volume are Witkacy''s Foreword to Metaphysics of a Two-Headed Calf in which the playwright defends his concept of theatre as an autonomous art with a scenic language of its own and an appendix containing a documentary itinerary of Witkacy''s journey to Ceylon.

The Polish playwright and artist Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, known as Witkacy, is now recognized as Poland''s leading theatrical innovator of the interwar years and one of the outstanding creative personalities of the European avant-garde. This volume contains two of Witkacy''s "tropical" plays inspired by the playwright''s trip to Ceylon and Australia in 1914 with his close friend, the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski.Mr. Price, or Tropical Madness is a drama of heightened passion and greed among British colonists in Rangoon who seem to have stepped out of Joseph Conrad''s tales of the South Seas.Metaphysics of a Two headed Calf, set in New Guinea and Australia, pits savage European imperialists against a native tribal Australia and pits savage European imperialists against a native tribal chieftain whose fetish of a great golden frog offers greater insight into the mystery of existence than the Westerners'' shallow rationalism. Both plays puncture the white rulers'' poses of superiority and parody their images of the tropical Other. Also included in the volume are Witkacy''s Foreword to Metaphysics of a Two-Headed Calf in which the playwright defends his concept of theatre as an autonomous art with a scenic language of its own and an appendix containing a documentary itinerary of Witkacy''s journey to Ceylon.

Two outstanding examples of socialist-themed plays are combined in this remarkable volume.The Conspiracy of Feelings by Yurii Olesha (1899-1960) is based on his highly respected short novel Envy about the struggle between the old and new in Soviet society. The play, called The Conspiracy of Feelings, is not a simple adaptation, but an original work that reconceived the novel. The play explores the precarious position of the intelligentsia in the new collective state.The Little Theatre of The Green Goose was written by Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski (1905-53) who was one of Poland''s most beloved poets. After World War II, he began work as a playwright, inventing a colorful theatre troupe of performers (animal and human) and contributing a new instalment of The Little Theatre of the Green Goose each week to Przekroj, the Cracow literary magazine. Intended for reading only, The Green Goose went unperformed in Galczynski''s life and was finally staged in 1955 and gained a permanent place in the theatre and became a force for the creation of the new Polish drama that flourished in the 1960s.

Two outstanding examples of socialist-themed plays are combined in this remarkable volume.The Conspiracy of Feelings by Yurii Olesha (1899-1960) is based on his highly respected short novel Envy about the struggle between the old and new in Soviet society. The play, called The Conspiracy of Feelings, is not a simple adaptation, but an original work that reconceived the novel. The play explores the precarious position of the intelligentsia in the new collective state.The Little Theatre of The Green Goose was written by Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski (1905-53) who was one of Poland''s most beloved poets. After World War II, he began work as a playwright, inventing a colorful theatre troupe of performers (animal and human) and contributing a new instalment of The Little Theatre of the Green Goose each week to Przekroj, the Cracow literary magazine. Intended for reading only, The Green Goose went unperformed in Galczynski''s life and was finally staged in 1955 and gained a permanent place in the theatre and became a force for the creation of the new Polish drama that flourished in the 1960s.