Search results for ""Author Matei Visniec""

Mirroring Romania’s drastic transition from totalitarianism to Western-style freedom in the late 1980s, Mr. K Released captures the disturbingly surreal feeling that many newly liberated prisoners face when they leave captivity. Employing his trademark playful absurdity, Matéi Visniec introduces us to Mr. K, a Kafkaesque figure who has been imprisoned for years for an undisclosed crime in a penitentiary with mysterious tunnels. One day, Mr. K finds himself unexpectedly released. Unable to comprehend his sudden liberation, he becomes traumatized by the realities of freedom—more so than the familiar trauma of captivity or imprisonment. In the hope of obtaining some clarification, Mr. K keeps waiting for an appointment with the prison governor, however, their meeting is constantly being delayed. During this endless process of waiting, Mr. K gets caught up in a clinical exploration of his physical surroundings. He does not have the courage or indeed inclination to leave, but can move unrestricted within the prison compound, charting endless series of absurd circles in which readers might paradoxically recognize themselves.

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Dramatist, poet, novelist, and journalist Matei Visniec, born in Romania and living in France since seeking political asylum in 1987, has been one of the most trenchant voices of Europe, condemning the atrocities of totalitarianism as well as excesses of consumer culture. This first anthology of his dramatic work made available in English collects seven of his most impressive and outspoken plays. How to Explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients is the central piece of the collection and is a satire of Stalinism that unmasks limitless political power, the fascination with utopias, and the perils of personality cults. Other plays in the anthology include Decomposed Theater, or The Human Trashcan, which explores forms of brainwashing and alienation both in totalitarian and consumerist societies; The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War, which addresses witnessing trauma and the complicated relationship between East and West; and Richard III Will Not Take Place, or Scenes from the Life of Meyerhold; which speaks to political censorship and cultural resistance under totalitarianism, focusing on the social role and responsibility of the artist. The resulting collection is a bold and unflinching critique of politics and society that is so poignant and moving it is sure to be of interest to performers and historians alike.

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This collection features four new plays about war, tyranny and discrimination by Eastern and Central European writers. Includes the plays The Body of a Woman as a battlefield in the Bosnian war by Matei Visniec, Cordon by Nebojsa Romcevic, When I want to whistle, I whistle... by Andreea Vălean, Soap Opera by György Spiró The title of this volume alludes to the history of political double-dealing in a troubled region within southern Europe, surrounded by the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Seas. G.B. Shaw wrote Arms and The Man about a small Balkan plot in the 19th century. It's in this tradition, rather than in a geographical sense that we use the title Balkan Plots. The plays in this volume are dramatic works which have emerged from, or which take as their subject matter, the struggle of individuals within societies affected by recent political upheaval. The writers explore aspects of freedom and rebellion, ethnicity and discrimination, loyalty and betrayal in situations where conventional attitudes and beliefs are severely tested. In some plays, the conflict is between traditional socialist attitudes and western capitalism. In others, the values and beliefs of the younger generation collide with and challenge those of the older generation. Within each of the plays, the way in which the personal and the political interacts, is very much in evidence.

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