

Dalliance And Undiscovered Country
Tom Stoppard
Awards & Recognition
Dalliance
Undiscovered Country
Rough Crossing
On the Razzle
The Seagull
This fourth volume of Tom Stoppard's work for the stage brings together five of his most celebrated translations and adaptations of plays by Arthur Schnitzler (
Dalliance and Undiscovered Country
), Ferenc Molnar (
Rough Crossing
, a classic farce set aboard an ocean liner), Johann Nestroy (
On the Razzle
, a mad chase through Vienna), and Anton Chekhov (
The Seagull
, the classic Russian country tale).
According to The Times of London, "Adaptation in Stoppard's terms means finding a sympathetic text and using it as a springboard for invention that leaves the original far behind."
In adapting these plays--some classics, some nearly forgotten--for the modern stage, Tom Stoppard has added his own unique elements of dazzling wit and verbal brilliance, hilarious parody and cutting satire, to create works that stand as exceptional works of theater that do not belong to any one age.
"A theatrical feast: a play that combines detailed psychology with a portrait of a society.... What the play shows us is couples indulging in a polite sexual excuse me behind which lurks panic, death and an insane preoccupation with honour.... What is fascinating is that the action is conducted against a background of tennis parties, trips to the Dolomites, charade like affairs and summerhouse banter against Art Deco panels. Everything suggests a world of golden leisure and civilized deceit. But what Schnitzler shows us is the corrosive effect of habitual lying on this Smiles of a Summer Night' atmosphere and the destructive impact of the hero's contaminated sense of honour. I think it's a marvelous play because it pinpoints decadence with wit and irony."
— Guardian
Dalliance is a British play written by Arthur Schnitzler and published by Faber & Faber in London (2000).
Digital editions available on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books .
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