Plays

A brilliant comedy and relentless criticism of the moral and social values of the 18th-century Venetian bourgeoisie by one of Europe's most celebrated playwrights. Bilingual edition.

Alternate Cover/publisher Edition ISBN 0743482832 (ISBN13: 9780743482837) Each edition includes: • Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play • Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play • Scene-by-scene plot summaries • A key to famous lines and phrases • An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language • An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play • Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

One of the major figures of modern theater, Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) wrote dramas and satires that sparked controversy with their radical departures from conventional theatrical techniques. His most celebrated work, Six Characters in Search of an Author, embodies the Nobel Prize-winning playwright's innovations by presenting an open-ended drama on a stage without sets. First performed in 1923, this intellectual comedy introduces six individuals to a stage where a company of actors has assembled for a rehearsal. Claiming to be the incomplete, unused creations of an author's imagination, they demand lines for a story that will explain the details of their lives. In ensuing scenes, these "real-life characters," all professing to be part of an extended family, produce a drama of sorts—punctuated by disagreements, interruptions, and arguments. In the end they are dismissed by the irate manager, their dilemma unsolved and the "truth" a matter of individual viewpoints. A tour de force exploring the many faces of reality, this classic is now available in an inexpensive edition that will be welcomed by amateur theatrical groups as well as by students of drama.

The patrons and owners of a newly opened guesthouse, Monkswell Manor, find themselves trapped by a terrible snowstorm and threatened by a psychotic killer at the same time! With a finite cast of characters in this "locked room" type of mystery, it is not long before suspicions are voiced and, under growing pressure, even newlyweds Molly and Giles, the owners and managers of the guesthouse, start to suspect the other of being the killer. In the early 1950s, Christie developed Three Blind Mice into a play, "The Mousetrap." It became the longest running play in English or any other language in history.

To reduce his medical fees, hypochondriac M. Argan decides to marry off his daughter Angelica to a physician's son. Unfortunately, Angelica loves Clíante. Argan's brother Bíralde and Toinette, an inventive maid, save the situation for the lovers and expose Mme Argan's schemes to bleed her husband of his fortune. Then they persuade the hypochondriac to turn physician so that he can quack himself free of charge.

Cast 2 men, 12 women. One of the great successes of this distinguished writer. A serious and adult play about two women who run a school for girls. After a malicious youngster starts a rumor about the two women, the rumor soon turns to scandal. As the young girl comes to understand the power she wields, she sticks by her story, which precipitates tragedy for the women. It is later discovered that the gossip was pure invention, but it is too late. Irreparable damage has been done.