Three Plays

Philoctetes, The Horatian, Mauser

Heiner Müller, Nathaniel McBride

Translated by Nathaniel McBride

 

5 x 8.5 inches, 138pp. October 2011

ISBN : 9781906497828

Rs  350.00 (PB)
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£14.00 (PB)

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Despite being widely acknowledged as one of the most important German dramatists since Bertolt Brecht, Heiner Müller (1929–95) still remains relatively unknown in the English-speaking world. This collection of plays aims to change that, presenting new translations and opening up his work to a larger audience.

 

Collected here are three of his plays—Philoctetes, The Horatian and Mauser—that together constitute what Müller called an ‘experimental series’, which both develops and critiques Brecht’s theory of the Lehrstück, or ‘learning play’.

 

Based on a tragedy by Sophocles, 'Philoctetes' dramatizes the confrontation between politics, morality and the desire for revenge. 'The Horatian' uses an incident from ancient Rome as an example of ways of approaching the moral ambiguity of the past. Finally, 'Mauser', set during the Russian civil war, examines the nature and ethics of revolutionary violence. The plays are accompanied by supporting materials written by Müller himself, as well as an introduction by Uwe Schütte that contextualizes the plays and speaks of their continued relevance today.

Nathaniel McBride is a writer and translator. He lives in London.

Heiner Müller was a German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. He is one of the most important German dramatists of the twentieth century. His other plays include Hamletmachine (1977) and Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome (1985). 

 

Nathaniel McBride

Theatre And Performance Studies
Playscript
German List