Saved - "The most uncompromising, original and un-English English play of the sixties" (Observer); Early Morning - "A gargantuan Swiftian metaphor of universal consumption" (Observer); The Pope's Wedding - "This bizarre and unclassifiable piece is an astonishing tour de force for a first play, and if it comes to that, would be an astonishing tour de force if it were a fifty-first … Bond is an original" (Bernard Levin, Daily Mail)
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Editorial Reviews
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"Edward Bond is the most radical playwright to emerge from the sixties … the most savagely powerful dramatist writing today … Bond's plays cannot be ignored"—Independent
About the Author
Edward Bond is widely regarded as the UK's greatest and most influently playwright. His plays include The Pope's Wedding (Royal Court Theatre, 1962), Saved (Royal Court, 1965), Early Morning (Royal Court, 1968), Lear (Royal Court, 1971), The Sea (Royal Court, 1973), The Fool (Royal Court, 1975), The Woman (National Theatre, 1978), Restoration (Royal Court, 1981) and The War Plays (RSC at the Barbican Pit, 1985).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Come for Saved, check out Early Morning and The Pope's Wedding-violence and nihilism and boredom,
By
This review is from: Bond Plays: 1: Saved, Early Morning, The Pope's Wedding (Master Playwrights) (Vol 1) (Paperback)
Included here are Edward Bond's first plays, the first in a series put out by the great English publishing house Methuen.
After years of hearing about the famous scene in Saved, and wanting to read it, and maybe even see it, I finally got to do the former, and am here to pass on that this is a remarkable play, not to be missed if it is being presented near you, and is also a great read-who likes working their Cockney dialect?-and has a wallop of a core to boot. Very much an ensemble story, Saved does have a main character, but it's scenes are mostly two-person short/quick dialogues, full of angst and boredom. The scene of infanticide is in the middle and serves as the apex of the nothingness that embodies the lives of these post-war, post-angry young man English, who's pursuits are none, other than occasional work, a night out, eating...you know, the basicness that allows for cruelty, when no valuable purpose is apparent. What makes Saved remarkable though is Len, the central character, who's constant interest and seemingly clueless tenacity turns out to be it's moral core that resounds with a curiosity and compassion that make for a real courageous and bold vision of modern life. Len's involvement in the family, his presence at their home, his dogged attachment to Pam, his lone interest in the baby, his questioning of Fred, his excitment at Mary and willingness to bond with Harry all make for a picture of hope and wonder in the midst of so much hatred, fear, nihilism, desperation, ignorance, boredom. A true classic. Highly recommended. Needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. Unfortunately for Early Morning, I never was able to fully grasp the irony, absurdity, farce or socio-historical commentary Bond was making because I was almost completely confused throughout. It did remind me a bit of Churchill's Cloud 9, what with English betraying their famous sense of poise and upright presentation to reveal a vulgar, cannibalistic, vile crassness. The disclaimer on the page opposite the original production notes, that "The events of this play are true," need not be pondered very long, what with Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, their sons Arthur and George, Disraeli, Gladstone and Florence Nightingale all conspiring to murder, seduce, eat and out do on another, even after they are in Heaven. The deeper message of Early Morning seems to be the continuity of the pomposity and indifferent behavior of the Royals and the politically mighty. Their nature is to consume and destroy, they are not benevolent, and even a figure as revered as Florence Nightingale can be abused and reduced to base desperations. I still had difficulty reading this, so maybe I best hold off until I see it staged (the chances of which are not good, as I'm in L.A.), but I could only recommend this to those interested in Bond and theatre specifically. With The Pope's Wedding I could only gather that Scopey, the young protagonist of the piece takes over for his girlfriend/wife Pat as the hermit Alen's caretaker and soon becomes possessed by Alen, in the end becoming him. The language of The Pope's Wedding, like Early Morning was difficult for me to puzzle together, because unlike Saved there are more complex dialectic structures and slang within speeches and dialogues. There is also a lot of pivotal stage directions about the hermit Alen and then Scopey. This proved Beckettian too. I suppose it is a stretch to figure this one out, but judging from Bond's essay about the violence in Saved that is featured here and the essay on the nature of human violence that is longer and more philosophical, The Pope's Wedding-which I interpret as an ironic term of a passage into isolation and senselessness heightened by empty hatreds and bored violence-as opposed to "faith." Because nobody in The Pope's Wedding, like Saved is doing anything with their lives. Unlike Early Morning, which presents a similar point but more abstractly, absurdly and with a historical bend. I highly recommend Saved, but would only suggest Early Morning and The Pope's Wedding to those interested in Edward Bond and his art.
3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A social dramatist with insight into modern society.,
This review is from: Bond Plays: 1: Saved, Early Morning, The Pope's Wedding (Master Playwrights) (Vol 1) (Paperback)
If you are considering the plays of Bond there is no better place to start than here, at the beginning of his career. This volume contains his first three plays. Whether you have seen thse works performed or not is irrelevant. Just reading them is an interesting experience. This is essential modern literature! Bond's introductions (to all the volumes of his collected plays) are also essential. They have a socialist leaning but are not too preachy. Bond's self-educated working-class position gives his articulate essays a powerful punch. (A punch modern society needs.) I would buy these volumes just for these introductions, they are that good!After this, go on to PLAYS:TWO for the brilliant LEAR.
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an essential dramatist,
By neil (nnlabute@aol.com) (Illinois) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bond Plays: 1: Saved, Early Morning, The Pope's Wedding (Master Playwrights) (Vol 1) (Paperback)
as fine a writer as england has produced since the second world war. these plays represent bond simply and completely, as a man of passion and vision and a writer that any reader or writer MUST reckon with if they wish to have an understanding of modern drama. genius, and handed out when the word is knowingly overused. here it is earned.
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