Symbolist Drama: An International Collection

Rating:
Summary: Where else can you find these plays?
Review: This is not a collection that will appeal to the average reader, not even the average reader of drama. But if you have an interest in the Symbolist movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, this book makes an excellent starting point. Though the Symbolists get little mainstream attention today, the movement shook the stranglehold realism had on theatre at the time, and opened the floodgates for Expressionism, Absurdism, and all the various "isms" that have followed.
Many of these plays may seem bizarre at first glance, but all are fascinating, and a few (such as Maeterlinck's "The Intruder" and Briusov's "The Wayfarer") could still hold an audience today. The translations are not always elegant, but the scholarship is sound, and honestly, where else are you going to find these plays? An excellent addition to any collection of early 20th century drama.

Rating:
Summary: Where else can you find these plays?
Review: This is not a collection that will appeal to the average reader, not even the average reader of drama. But if you have an interest in the Symbolist movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, this book makes an excellent starting point. Though the Symbolists get little mainstream attention today, the movement shook the stranglehold realism had on theatre at the time, and opened the floodgates for Expressionism, Absurdism, and all the various "isms" that have followed.
Many of these plays may seem bizarre at first glance, but all are fascinating, and a few (such as Maeterlinck's "The Intruder" and Briusov's "The Wayfarer") could still hold an audience today. The translations are not always elegant, but the scholarship is sound, and honestly, where else are you going to find these plays? An excellent addition to any collection of early 20th century drama.