Play Suggestions

Plays and other dramatic works
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RuthieG
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Post by RuthieG »

The general LibriVox policy on recording texts is that they should have been published, and in the Public Domain in the USA. Self-translations wouldn't qualify, in my opinion, because they haven't been published. Just my take on this.

The general view on the Internet seems to be that there is no public domain English translation available, unfortunately.

The Samuel French version was published in 1993, so is clearly in copyright. The triumph of love by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux; adaptation by Stephen Wadsworth; based on a translation by Stephen Wadsworth and Nadia Benabid.

Ruth
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musicalheart1
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Post by musicalheart1 »

Darn. That is such a shame. It would be so nice if one day someone finds one, because it's such a good play! Or, we'll just have to wait how many decades for copyright on the Samuel French version to expire? :lol:
RuthieG
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Post by RuthieG »

musicalheart1 wrote: Or, we'll just have to wait how many decades for copyright on the Samuel French version to expire? :lol:
I really wouldn't hold your breath. It is 95 years from publication. ;)
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ghopp
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Post by ghopp »

[DRAMA] Guy Domville & Other Plays of Henry James

I thought that this idea might be interesting and workable for LibriVox--to consider some of the plays of Henry James, especially Guy Domville (1893), since that was the one whose failure seemed to cause the author the greatest disappointment. It's hard to imagine that a commercial company like Naxos would be interested in doing a recording of James's plays, as obscure as they have become, but now that LibriVox is occasionally adding a play to its catalog, this might be appropriate. The educational value of being able to hear one of his plays would be considerable since discussions and biographies of James's career focus so often on his repeatedly frustrated stage ambitions. I do not know if Project Gutenberg has done a version of James's dramas, but Elizabeth Klett, one of your readers who is an English professor (or someone with access to a big library), should be able to find out about their publication history by looking at The Complete Plays of Henry James by Leon Edel (Lippincott, 1949).

Thanks,
Glenn
BellonaTimes
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Post by BellonaTimes »

You might also talk to Thistlechick (librarian) and Gloriana (theater professor) about the copyright issues and possible production (way down the line) respectively.

http://www.archive.org/details/henryjames00westgoog Here's a bio of him by Dame Rebecca West.

26 (at least) volume set of his novels and short stories -- could the plays be in there? http://www.archive.org/details/novelsandtalesh11jamegoog
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Miss Avarice
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Post by Miss Avarice »

A couple plays I found...

The Playboy of the Western World - Synge
The Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (on the west coast of Ireland) during the early 1900s. It tells the story of Christy Mahon, a young man running away from his farm, claiming he killed his father. The locals are more interested in vicariously enjoying his story than in condemning the immorality of his murderous deed. He captures the romantic attention of the bar-maid Pegeen Mike, the daughter of Flaherty. - Wikipedia
Text: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1240/1240-h/1240-h.htm

The Lower Depths - Gorky
The Lower Depths is perhaps Maxim Gorky's best-known play. It was written during the winter of 1901 and the spring of 1902. Subtitled "Scenes from Russian Life," it depicted a group of the Russian underclass in a shelter near the Volga. It became his first major success, and a hallmark of Russian socialist realism.

When it first appeared, The Lower Depths was criticized for its pessimism and ambiguous ethical message. The presentation of the lower classes was viewed as overly dark and unredemptive, and Gorky was clearly more interested in creating memorable characters than in advancing a formal plot. However, in this respect, the play is generally regarded as a masterwork.

The theme of harsh truth versus the comforting lie pervades the play from start to finish, as most of the characters choose to deceive themselves from the bleak reality of their condition. - Wikipedia
Text: http://www.archive.org/details/lowerdepthsplayi00gorkiala
http://www.archive.org/details/lowerdepthsdrama00gork
http://books.google.com/books?id=XU4EAAAAYAAJ

I'll Leave It To You - Coward
(can't find a summary currently, too lazy to write one xD.) Noel Coward has a few plays that were ostensibly published prior to 1923 (according to Wikipedia, at least), which I cannot seem to find on Gutenberg. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Text: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31029/31029-h/31029-h.htm

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Aiken (adaptation of novel)
plot summary can be found here
I found the actual novel in the catalog, but not the play adaptation. Aiken died in 1876, so this should be safe, as far as I know.

Text: http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/onstage/scripts/aikenhp.html

Exiles - Joyce
The basic premise of Exiles involves a love triangle between Richard Rowan (a Dublin writer recently returned from exile in Rome), Bertha (his common law wife) and his old friend Robert Hand (a journalist). - Wikipedia
I am pretty sure this is PD as well, as it came out in 1918.

Text: http://robotwisdom.com/jaj/exiles1.html

--

I just wanted to throw out some plays, because I absolutely love plays, and I noticed that we didn't have these plays in the LibriVox catalog. :( I believe that Synge's play is considered a very important play in and of itself as well. I said plays about six times, didn't I... xP
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dii
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Post by dii »

Thanks for the suggestions! I've been planning to try myself in coordinating a play, so I might set up one of these :D The first one looks interesting...
Diana
Lucy_k_p
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Post by Lucy_k_p »

Ooh some of those look quite interesting, especially the Gorky. Even if I wasn't able to take part I'd love to listen.
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Miss Avarice
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Post by Miss Avarice »

Thanks guys! Yeah, I just love plays but I do not feel I am experienced enough to coordinate one quite yet. (...A few years, maybe, lol. XP) So I figured I might as well repeatedly suggest over here to see if anyone picks them up. I'd love to listen to some of these and/or read for them as well. ^^

The more plays, the merrier!

@dii: I've heard that the Synge one is quite good. I haven't read it yet, but it seems really interesting. And dark.

@Lucy: I also love Gorky. Russian authors are awesome. :O I wish "The Master and Margarita" had a PD translation somewhere. Dx
Out of the ash
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wildemoose
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Post by wildemoose »

I've thought of doing Playboy but got scared off by the accents--you'd need quite a few people who can pull off Irish really well, and I don't think we have very many native Irish-accented folks around here at the moment.
Lucy_k_p
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Post by Lucy_k_p »

I have never had a native Irish person critique me on it, but I can keep up an Irish-sounding-to-ears-that-don't-know-better accent pretty well. Although lots of fake accents may annoy any genuine Irish listeners and it may be better to do the play without putting on any accents.
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Miss Avarice
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Post by Miss Avarice »

About the Synge play: would it really matter if the people reading had Irish accents...? I mean, yes, it's an Irish play, and that's how it's usually done, but we're not a professional audiobook recording group. And I've seen British plays done without British accents.
Out of the ash
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And I eat men like air.
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wildemoose
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Post by wildemoose »

I guess it's a matter of opinion. I would argue that there's a difference between a play that simply happens to be written by an Irish playwright, and a play that deals with a specifically Irish experience. Shakespeare and John Osborne are both British playwrights--you can do Shakespeare with any accent, but something like Look Back in Anger (just for example) is so specific to time and place that it would sound odd to do it with American accents.

Then again, it doesn't much matter what I think as I won't be the one coordinating it. :D
Miss Avarice
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Post by Miss Avarice »

That is true. I was mostly hinging on the fact that we don't have the resources of professional actors who can do a convincing Irish brogue, that I felt it shouldn't be a huge issue if someone wanted to coordinate it.

The only accent I can pull off is a slightly inflected British one. I love Russian accents, though. And German. xDDD
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
- Lady Lazarus, Sylvia Plath
LizMourant
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Post by LizMourant »

[DRAMA] Calderon De La Barca: Life Is A Dream!!!

It's translated at Project Gutenberg! Hooray! I think Calderon would be a great way to do drama and hit the multi-cultural edges of dramatic works in translation. Life is a Dream is a classic! Here: From Project Gutenberg...

Of all Calderon's works, "Life is a Dream" may be regarded as the most universal in its theme. It seeks to teach a lesson that may be learned from the philosophers and religious thinkers of many ages—that the world of our senses is a mere shadow, and that the only reality is to be found in the invisible and eternal. The story which forms its basis is Oriental in origin, and in the form of the legend of "Barlaam and Josaphat" was familiar in all the literatures of the Middle Ages. Combined with this in the plot is the tale of Abou Hassan from the "Arabian Nights," the main situations in which are turned to farcical purposes in the Induction to the Shakespearean "Taming of the Shrew." But with Calderon the theme is lifted altogether out of the atmosphere of comedy, and is worked up with poetic sentiment and a touch of mysticism into a symbolic drama of profound and universal philosophical significance.

Parts for Men and Women! Classical Drama from the 17th Century in Spain. Senor La Barca's only real competition (other than the gringos Shakespeare, and Marlowe over time) was Lope De Vega, who also wrote verse plays from what I understand. Life is a Dream was done at my University, and is available PD translation! I really want to get something from the hispanic world out there. I'd love to read Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz's work and poetry but it isn't available at Gutenberg and translations are sold so I question if her work is PD outside of being in Spanish????? If someone could help me figure out THAT, I'd have another solo, though she also wrote plays "autosacramentales" or morality plays which Sr. De La Barca did as well :) :)
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