"One of the greatest poets and dramatists of our century" (Observer) Written when the Brecht's were in exile in Finland, Mr Puntila and his Man Matti is based on a Finnish text and is arguably Brecht's finest comedy. It is the story of a master who wishes to swap roles with his servant; in a series of hilarious scenes, Brecht milks the possibilities for role-reversal and mistaken identity that this situation affords.
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Long unavailable in this country, Mr. Puntila and His Man Matti comprises some of the best comedy that Bertolt Brecht wrote for the theater and contains one of his great characters. For his complexity and vitality, Mr. Puntila ranks on a par with Brecht's indelible Galileo and Mother Courage. A hard-drinking landowner, Puntila suffers from a split personality: when drunk, he is friendly and humane; when he sobers up, he is intolerable - ruthless, surly, and self-centered. Oscillating between these two poles, he plays havoc with his workers, his women, his daughter's marriage, and the loyalty of his sardonic chauffeur and valet, Matti. This translation is by John Willett, who with Ralph Manheim is the editor of Brecht's complete dramatic work in English. The joint editors have equipped this volume with a critical introduction and notes, along with Brecht's own notes and variants and the short story on which the play was based.
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is acknowledged as one of the great dramatists whose plays, work with the Berliner Ensemble and writing have had a considerable influence on the theatre. His landmark plays include The Threepenny Opera and, while exiled from Germany and living in the USA, such masterpieces as The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
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Seller: PsychoBabel & Skoob Books, Didcot, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Very Good Hardcover with jacket. Light shelf wear along the edhes of the jacket. Used. Seller Inventory # 492557
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Cloth. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Forms part of the series edited by John Willett and Ralph Manheim. Includes the play Mr Puntila and his Man Matti, translated by John Willett. Bound in grey with silvered reproduction of Brecht's signature to front cover and silver lettering on a red ground to spine. Dust jacket has lightly yellowed. Book and dust jacket in excellent condition. Small orange sticker to lower left of front of dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 003128A
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