Synopsis
Modern Catalan Plays - The Quarrelsome Party & The Audition & Desire & Fourplay
John London & David George - eds
Published by Methuen
Since the early 1990s, Catalonia has proven to the world that its rich heritage and artistic tradition are worthy of focus and study
The plays in the volume reflect the post-Franco era during which Barcelona and other parts of Catalonia have become the focal point for new dramatic expression
Joan Brossa (1919-1998) was the spiritual father of this new wave of artistic revolution in writing
His play The Quarrelsome Party is a dark family drama as surreal as any bad dream
The Audition by Rodolf Sirera has its roots in the author's anti-Franco stance
This in-the-theatre drama has the mystery cat-and-mouse playfulness of Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth
Benet i Jornet's play Desire is a Beckettian mystery play about four unnamed characters
Sergi Belbel represents the new generation of Catalan playwrights and his plays have had wide appeal abroad
In Fourplay he experiments with the idea of a sex farce and the play's 38 scenes lead to wild conclusions