Fry: Plays Two
Plays Two (Venus Observed; The Dark Is Light Enough; Curtmantle)
1st Edition
Published on 15. October 2007
280 pages
978-1-84943-746-2 (ISBN)
Description
Includes the plays Venus Observed, The Dark is Light Enough and Curtmantle
This volume of Christopher Fry's original stage work concludes his 'Season Plays' with Venus Observed ('Autumn') and The Dark is Light Enough ('Winter').
In the first of these, commissioned by Laurence Olivier, a confident but ageing duke asks his grown-up son to choose a new wife for him. Written with a superbly light touch, this is a surprisingly reflective play about love, power and forgiveness.
The Dark is Light Enough, set during Hungary's revolt against Austria in the 1850s, concerns an imperious, inscrutable aristocrat who seems prepared to sacrifice family and household for the sake of her daughter's scapegrace ex-husband.
Also included is Fry's biographical play about King henry II, Curtmantle. Working with the 'epic' theatrical style of the time and utilising a new, leaner verse language, Fry captures Henry's energy, quick wit and quick temper, his relationship with Thomas Becket - Chancellor and friend, Archbishop and enemy - and his ultimately tragic struggles with his four ambitious sons.
This volume of Christopher Fry's original stage work concludes his 'Season Plays' with Venus Observed ('Autumn') and The Dark is Light Enough ('Winter').
In the first of these, commissioned by Laurence Olivier, a confident but ageing duke asks his grown-up son to choose a new wife for him. Written with a superbly light touch, this is a surprisingly reflective play about love, power and forgiveness.
The Dark is Light Enough, set during Hungary's revolt against Austria in the 1850s, concerns an imperious, inscrutable aristocrat who seems prepared to sacrifice family and household for the sake of her daughter's scapegrace ex-husband.
Also included is Fry's biographical play about King henry II, Curtmantle. Working with the 'epic' theatrical style of the time and utilising a new, leaner verse language, Fry captures Henry's energy, quick wit and quick temper, his relationship with Thomas Becket - Chancellor and friend, Archbishop and enemy - and his ultimately tragic struggles with his four ambitious sons.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
978-1-84943-746-2 (9781849437462)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Christopher Fry was born Arthur Hammond Harris in 1907. After a short stint as a teacher, he renamed himself Christopher Fry, and during the 1930s worked in a variety of theatrical jobs.
After the Second World War he began to make a name for himself as a verse dramatist with the one-act play A Phoenix Too Frequent and the full-length drama The Firstborn (both 1946). However, the major success of his career came with The Lady's Not for Burning in 1948, which ran for nine months in the West End and is still frequently revived. He later wrote screenplays for Hollywood, as well as plays, adaptations and essays.
After the Second World War he began to make a name for himself as a verse dramatist with the one-act play A Phoenix Too Frequent and the full-length drama The Firstborn (both 1946). However, the major success of his career came with The Lady's Not for Burning in 1948, which ran for nine months in the West End and is still frequently revived. He later wrote screenplays for Hollywood, as well as plays, adaptations and essays.
Content
- Front Cover
- Half-title Page
- Dedication
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- VENUS OBSERVED
- ACT ONE
- ACT TWO
- ACT THREE
- THE DARK IS LIGHT ENOUGH
- ACT ONE
- ACT TWO
- ACT THREE
- CURTMANTLE
- PROLOGUE
- ACT ONE: 1158-63
- ACT TWO: 1163-70
- ACT THREE: 1174-89
