Peter Schaffer PDF
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.ODB" DBA.ATISTS Modem Dramatists Series Editors: Bruee and Adele King Publisbed titles Federieo Gareia Lorea, Reed Anderson Eugene O'Neill, Normand Berlin Tennessee Williams, Roger Boxill David Mamet, Dennis Carroll Arthur Miller, Neil Carson Mauriee Charney, Joe Orton New Ameriean Dramatists, 1960-1990, Ruby Cohn Ameriean Dramatists, 1918-1945, Bemard F. Dukore, Harold Pinter, Bemard F. Dukore George Bernard Shaw, Arthur Ganz Edward Bond, David Hirst Feminist Theatre, Helene Keyssar Mime and Post-Modern Mime, Thomas Leabhart Samuel Beekett, Charles Lyons Jean Genet, Jeanette L. Savona Anton Chekhov, Laurence Seneliek Ameriean Alternative Theatre , Theodore Shank Sean O'Casey, James Simmons Athol Fugard, Dennis Walder Furtber titles in preparation MODERN DRAMATISTS PETER SHAFFER c. J. Gianakaris Professor of English and Theatre Western Michigan University Macmillan Education ISBN 978-0-333-41373-9 ISBN 978-1-349-22046-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-22046-5 © c. J. Gianakaris 1992 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1992 All rights reserved. For information, write: Scholarly and Reference Division, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 First published in the United States of America in 1992 ISBN 978-0-312-06052-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gianakaris, C. J., 1934- Peter Shaffer / C. J. Gianakaris. p. cm.-(Modem dramatists) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-06052-7 1. Shaffer, Peter, 192&- -Criticism and interpretation. I. Title 11. Series. PR6037.H23Z65 1992 822' . 914---dc20 91-31626 CIP Contents Editors' Preface vii 1 Peter Shaffer and his Early Career: The Novels and Broadcast Plays 1 2 Launehing a Theatre Career: Five Finger Exercise 27 3 Four One-Act Comedies and Shrivings 44 4 Widening the Creative Lens: The Royal Hunt of the Sun 74 5 Equus and the Mature Shaffer 90 6 Amadeus: Shaffer's Supreme Achievement 107 7 Yonadab: Variations on a Favourite Theme 128 8 Lettice & Lovage: New Comedy for a New Age 149 9 Speculations - Present and Future 166 ~~ 1~ Chronology of Premieres 190 Select Bibliography 193 Index 201 v Editors' Preface The Modem Dramatists series is an international collec tion of introductions to major and significant nineteenth and twentieth-century dramatists, movements and new forms of drama in Europe, Great Britain. America and new nations such as Nigeria and Trinidad. Besides new studies of great and influential dramatists of the past, the series includes volumes on contemporary authors, recent trends in the theatre and on many dramatists, such as writers of farce, who have created theatre 'classics' while being neglected by literary criticism. The volumes in the series devoted to individual dramatists include a biogra phy, a survey of the plays, and detailed analysis of the most significant plays, along with discussion, where rele vant, of the political, social, historical and theatrical context. The authors of the volumes, who are involved with theatre as playwrights, directors, actors, teachers and critics, are concerned with the plays as theatre and discuss such matters as performance, character interpretation and staging, along with themes and context. BRUCE KING ADELE KING vii Acknowledgements The author and publishers wish to thank the following for permission to use copyright material. Andre Deutsch Ltd, for the extracts from Amadeus, Lettice and Lovage and Y onadab by Peter Shaffer. Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity. 1 Peter Shaffer and Ms Early Career: The .ovels and Broadcast Plays Peter ShatTer, the Man British playwright Peter Shaffer represents a rare breed becoming even rarer as the twenty-first century approaches: a writer for the stage who combines verbal articulateness with exceptional theatrical inventiveness. Since his first stage play, Five Finger Exercise, appeared in 1958, Shaffer has grown into giant prominence in the world of theatre. The mainstay of his reputation is aseries of philosophically probing dramas: The Royal Hunt 0/ the Sun (1964), Equus (1973), Shrivings (1970, 1974), Ama deus (1979) and Yonadab (1985). But there also are dazzling comedies and satires as weIl, such as the one-act comedies The Private Ear/The Public Eye (1962), Black Comedy (1965) and White Liars (1967) and the fuIl-Iength 1 Peter Shaffer Lettice & Lovage (1987). When considered together, Peter Shaffer's stage works comprise as varied and enter taining a one-man repertoire as is available today. His abiding popularity is evidenced by impressive box office figures, enthusiastic reviews and countless top awards. The appeal of Shaffer's work is so wide that it has inspired adaptations in ballet (Equus) and opera (Royal Hunt). Equus and Amadeus won Tony Awards, and Amadeus in its film format eamed eight Academy Awards in 1984, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay (also written by Shaffer). Movies made of his plays are a sore point with Shaffer, however. Other film adapta tions - Five Finger Exercise, The Public Eye and Royal Hunt - range from competent to dreadful. Notwithstand ing the extraordinary success of the movie Amadeus, Shaffer remains sceptical about transferring drama to the screen, particularly since Sidney Lumet's literalised film version of Equus. Shaffer's individual style accrues from a union of diverse writing strengths. His mastery of language is impressive, and his mature plays overflow with elegant, memorable dialogue. Few writers for the theatre today exhibit a comparable sensitivity with language, though Shaffer early in his career revealed a proclivity for overwrought and sentimental verbiage. Shaffer's principal characteristic, however, is his story-telling ability, which has found expression in a wide diversity of works, ranging from weIl-made plays to epic spectacle. These are also structurally very different from each other, and he con tinues to explore new directions in theatrical expression. The serious dramas in particular incorporate inventive, even experimental, stage tactics such as epic and 'total theatre' - styles rarely seen in mainstream theatre. Play goers may recognise elements of Ibsen, Shaw and Osbome 2
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