The Island of Slaves - (Oberon Modern Plays) by Pierre De Marivaux (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

What will become of us?

Four people, the sole survivors of a shipwreck, crawl out of the sea. Two of them are masters, and two of them are servants; and all four are about to discover what life feels like when the boot is on the other foot.

Marivaux's potent mix of laughter, emotion and theatrical game-playing makes him one of the most surprising and most modern of all classic playwrights. Neil Bartlett has adapted this brilliant comedy of role-swapping and redemption, which premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith in April 2002.

Cast size: 4

About the Author

He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing numerous comedies for the Comedie-Francaise and the Comedie-Italienne of Paris. His most important works are Le Triomphe de l'amour (The Triumph of Love), Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard (The Game of Love and Chance) and Les Fausses Confidences (False Admissions). He also published a number of essays and two important but unfinished novels, La Vie de Marianne and Le Paysan parvenu. Neil Bartlett is one of his generation's most respected and innovative theatre directors. His highly individual translations of French and German classical theatre, and charcteristically theatrical adaptations of Dickens, most of them originated while he was Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith in London, have been played around the world. His plays have premiered at the Royal Court, at the Manchester International Festival and at the National Theatre in London.