The Vaněk Plays

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Cover Vanek

Perhaps Václav Havel’s best-known works.  The character Vaněk became a symbol for Czechoslovak dissidents during the Communist era. In the plays, Audience, Protest, and Unveiling, Vaněk encounters people trapped by the moral dilemmas inherent in a Communist system. Also included is Havel’s modern sequel, the previously unpublished Dozens of Cousins. All translated by Jan Novak.

Read an essay about the plays.




Reviews from the Havel Festival:

"The explicitly political plays were particularly efective.  The so-called Vaněk plays were separately produced by three different companies, to great effect."
American Theatre 

"Novák's translation is modern and hip. It reminded me of what a difference a good translation can make."
nytheatre.com

224 pages
$14.95
ISBN 0-9770197-7-2