Curtmantle

Fülszöveg

In Curtmantle, his first historical play, Christopher Fry covers ahnost all the years of Henry the Second's reign (1154-1189), exploring his character, both as a ruler and a man, as well as the more often told story of his conflict with Thomas Becket.
The central characters of Henry, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Thomas are deeply seen personaUties moving at times easily, at times painfully, within the confines of their titles and responsibilities. The clashes and tensions between them sound and echo moral and social problems from which no period, nor man, is ever free.
In the Foreword Mr. Fry says: 'The play has two themes: one a progression towards a portrait of Henry, a search for his reality, moving through versions of "Where is the King?" to the unresolved close of "He was dead when they came to him". The other theme is Law, or rather the interplay of different laws: civil, canon, moral, aesthetic, and the laws of God; and how they belong and do not belong to each other.'
In a... Tovább

Fülszöveg

In Curtmantle, his first historical play, Christopher Fry covers ahnost all the years of Henry the Second's reign (1154-1189), exploring his character, both as a ruler and a man, as well as the more often told story of his conflict with Thomas Becket.
The central characters of Henry, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Thomas are deeply seen personaUties moving at times easily, at times painfully, within the confines of their titles and responsibilities. The clashes and tensions between them sound and echo moral and social problems from which no period, nor man, is ever free.
In the Foreword Mr. Fry says: 'The play has two themes: one a progression towards a portrait of Henry, a search for his reality, moving through versions of "Where is the King?" to the unresolved close of "He was dead when they came to him". The other theme is Law, or rather the interplay of different laws: civil, canon, moral, aesthetic, and the laws of God; and how they belong and do not belong to each other.'
In a review of the first performance
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of the play at the State opening of the Stadsschouwburg, Tilburg, the Netherlands, earlier this year, The Times comments on Mr. Fry's presentation of Henry's personality, saying: 'In these contradictions lies the clue to his character . . . and from it is created a tragic conception that surpasses anything that has yet come from Mr. Fry's pen.' Vissza