Edward Albee Livres

These range from the four brilliant one-act plays with which he exploded on the New York theater scene The Zoo Story, The Death of Bessie Smith, The Sandbox , and The American Dream to his early masterpiece, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Also included are two adaptations from notable American novels The Ballad of the Sad Café and Malcolm and Albee's mysteriously fascinating Tiny Alice . This book represents one of the most exciting and bold periods in the career of one of America's most popular and imaginative playwrights.

Edward Albee: The American DreamJack Richardson: Gallows HumourMurray Schisgal: The TypistsArthur Miller: Incident at Vichy

"George, a disillusioned academic, and Martha, his caustic wife, have just come home from a faculty party. When a handsome young professor and his mousy wife stop by for a nightcap, an innocent night of fun and games quickly turns dark and dangerous. Long-buried resentment and rage are unleashed as George and Martha turn their rapier-sharp wits against each other, using their guests as pawns in their verbal sparring. By night's end, the secrets of both couples are uncovered and the lies they cling to are exposed."--Jacket

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Albee is one of our most important American playwrights. And nowhere is his dramatic genius more apparent than in two of his probing early works, The American Dream and The Zoo Story.The New Yorker hailed The American Dream as "unique ... brilliant ... a comic nightmare, fantasy of the highest order." The story of one of America's most dysfunctoinal families, it is a ferocious, uproarious attack on the substitution of artificial values for real values-a startling tale of murder and morality that rocks middle-class ethics to its complacent foundations.The Zoo Story is a harrowing depiction of a young man alienated from the human race-a searing story of loneliness and the desperate need for recognition that builds to a violent, shattering climax. Together, these plays show men and women at their most hilarious, heartbreaking, and above all, human-and demonstrate why Edward Albee continues to be one of our greatest living dramatists.

A collection of plays, often classified as absurd drama, which aim to portray a world in which humanity, with its despair, fear and loneliness, is alone in a hostile and meaningless world.

The intense dynamics between George and Martha unfold during a seemingly casual visit from a young couple, revealing deep-seated resentments and emotional turmoil. As the night progresses, their sharp exchanges expose not only their own secrets but also those of their guests, transforming a social gathering into a battleground of psychological manipulation. This exploration of marriage, truth, and illusion is regarded as a masterful and provocative theatrical experience that captivates with its raw emotional depth.

"Albee's perversely funny sendup of a standard mid-life crisis drama ... dares to suggest that even the most flawed and confused human beings deserve compassionate understanding, and the failure to proffer it is a species of bestiality far more abhorrent than the sexual kind." Variety On his 50th birthday, Martin, a world-famous architect prepares for a recorded interview by an old friend in the TV business; but in the course of the conversation a secret emerges that threatens to turn celebration to tragedy. Edward Albee's black comedy offers a fascinating look at the limits liberal society can be pushed to, and asks the audience to question their beliefs, to examine their own bigoted views and reconsider their judgement of matters that may or may not be considered socially taboo. Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? is a hugely enjoyable parable that plumbs the deepest questions of social constraints on the individual expression of love. This Modern Classics edition features a new introduction by Toby Zinman.

Beneath the complacent surface of American life, Albee seeks out the hidden sources of our violence. Publisher

also includes "Fam and Yam: An Imaginary Interview".

THE STORIES: THE AMERICAN DREAM. Mommy and Daddy sit in a barren living room making small talk. Mommy, the domineering wife, is grappling with the thought of putting Grandma in a nursing home. Daddy, the long-suffering husband, could not care less.

Amelia, the proprietor of the Sad Cafe, throws her new husband out of their bedroom on their wedding night. Torn between anger and desire the husband finally leaves town only to return some years later to find Amelia showering all her affection on a dwarf cousin who has come to live with her. At their first meeting the dwarf is hopelessly attracted to the husband. In turn, the husband moves back into the Sad Cafe, threatening to run away with the dwarf if Amelia objects. The day of reckoning soon arrives and the husband and wife meet to settle their differences with their bare hands.

Obě dramata uvedená v tomto svazku, Hra o manželství (1987) a Koza aneb Kdo je Sylvie? (2000), za kterou autor dostal cenu Tony, mají společné téma manželské krize. V nekonvenční až šokující bilanci partnerského soužití odkrývají Albeeho hrdinové v sobě hlubiny, o kterých neměli dříve tušení. Přestože dramatik balancuje místy na hraně černé komedie, vypráví smutné příběhy o lidské osamělosti a potřebě obyčejné lásky ve stále víc nenormálnějším světě.

Der Titel klingt heiter und wie eine bloße Variante des Kinderliedes ›Wer hat Angst vor dem bösen Wolf?‹ Aber hinter dieser scheinbaren Harmlosigkeit verbirgt sich das Chaos menschlicher Beziehungen. Schauplatz des Dramas ist eine Wohnung, in der sich zwei Ehepaare nach einer Party treffen. Man vertreibt sich die Zeit mit Gesellschaftsspielen, die zum Anlaß der Selbstentblößung werden. Albee geht es dabei um die Aufdeckung menschlicher Illusionen. Er zeichnet mit ebensoviel Wehmut wie Ironie, zugleich messerscharf und doch mitfühlend das Bild des Menschen, dem offenbar alles zum ›Glücklichsein‹ zur Verfügung steht und der doch nur um so hoffnungsloser allein ist. Carson McCullers schrieb über das von der Kritik als großes leidenschaftliches Theater gefeierte Stück: »Es hat die Leidensgröße eines griechischen Dramas, wildesten Humor und düsteren Glanz.«

Tragikomedie o penězích jako svůdném lákadle v životě člověka. Soužití dvou manželů, kteří se musí uskrovňovat, naruší nečekaná nabídka resp. násilné vnucení nečestného, avšak fantasticky placeného zaměstnání pro jednoho znich. Ve světle této skutečnosti otupí se na chvíli morální zásady dvojice natolik, že nejsou schopni včas se proti svůdnému lákadlu postavit, a dochází k tragédii, z níž již není úniku. Podle hry Gilese Coopera napsal Edward Albee.

Svazek obsahuje čtyři divadelní hry Edwarda Albeeho: Stalo se v zoo (1959) — Kdo se bojí Virginie Woolfové? (1962) — Pískoviště (1960) — Americký sen (1961).