Mad Forest: A Play from Romania [Paperback]

Caryl Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996

The greatest living English-language playwright and, in my opinion, the most important English-language playwright since Williams.--Tony Kushner

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Caryl Churchill (1938-) is probably the most respected woman dramatist in the English-speaking world. She is the author of some twenty plays including Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Cloud Nine, Top Girls, Serious Money, The Skriker, Blue Heart, Far Away and A Number, seen and admired all over the world. CARYL CHURCHILL's plays include "Cloud Nine" (revived in 2007 to huge acclaim at the Almeida, London), "Top Girls", "Serious Money", "The Skriker", "Blue Heart", "Far Away" and "A Number". Most are published by NHB.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group; 1st TCG ed edition (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155936114X
• ISBN-13: 978-1559361149
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > History > Europe > Romania

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake up Romania!, March 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad Forest: A Play from Romania (Paperback)

Mad Forest is a fascinating look at Communist Romania before, during, and right after the revolution. I had the privelage of working on a college production of this play, and, each time it was performed, I found something new or amazing about it.
The play follows two families (Bogdon's family and Mihai's family) in Communist Romania. The play uses language (or, in the first scene, the lack of it) to convey the danger of their lives. Just as the conversation is suppressed, the people themselves are suppressed. (For our production, we talked to a Romanian woman who said people were afraid to talk to their next door neighbors, because they did not know the person was in Securitate (the secret police). The second act contains "sound bites," if I can call them that, to describe the events of December 1989, when the Communist government was overthrown. This part of the play is especially chilling and brilliant. The third act shows the chaos following the collapse of communism. The characters talk and argue, and almost explode with emotion, as Churchill once again uses language to show the chaos. The third act, like the aftermath of the revolution, was unsettling. I would advise anyone who wants to read this, to learn a little bit about the revolution, so you understand what happened. All in all, a fantastic, powerful, moving play.