Rock 'n' Roll(play)
| Rock 'n' Roll | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Tom Stoppard |
| Characters | Jan Max Eleanor Esme Interrogator Nigel Ferdinand Young Esme Alice Gillian Magda Deirdre Piper State SecurityOfficer 1 Stephen Milan State SecurityOfficer 2 Jaroslav Lenka Candida |
| Date premiered | 3 June 2006 |
| Place premiered | England |
| Original language | English |
| Setting | Prague,CzechoslovakiaandCambridge,England from 1968 to 1990 |
Rock 'n' Rollis a play by British playwrightTom Stoppardthat premiered at theRoyal Court Theatre,London, in 2006.
Plot summary
[edit]The play is concerned with the significance ofrock and rollin the emergence of the socialist movement inEastern-BlocCzechoslovakiabetween thePrague Springof 1968 and theVelvet Revolutionof 1989. Taking place inCambridge,England and in Prague, the play contrasts the attitudes of a young Czech PhD student and rock music fan, who becomes appalled by the repressive regime in his home country, with those of his BritishMarxistprofessor, who unrepentantly continues to believe in theSovietideal.
The play takes place over several decades, from the late 1960s until 1990, ending with a concert given bythe Rolling Stonesthat year in Prague. Recurrent references are made to a glimpse by one of the main characters of the youngSyd BarrettperformingGolden Hair.Barrett's physical and mental decline also plays a role in the drama (Barrett in fact died during the play's run). The underground Czech groupthe Plastic People of the Universeare held up by another character as an ideal of resistance to Communism. The poetry ofSapphois another recurrent motif; its pagan sensualism is implicitly compared with the anarchic erotic force of rock music.
One of the characters, a Czech writer, is named Ferdinand as an homage toVáclav Havel.Havel wrote three plays with a protagonist namedFerdinand Vaněk,a stand-in for Havel himself. These plays were distributed bysamizdatand became a symbol of the resistance. A number of Havel's friends then wrote their ownVaněk plays,with Ferdinand Vaněk as a character.[1]Stoppard continues in that tradition.
This play is one of several works in Stoppard'soeuvreconcerned with artistic dissent against theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia:Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbethalso addresses this, as doEvery Good Boy Deserves FavourandProfessional Foul.
Original production
[edit]The original production was staged at theRoyal Court Theatreand ran from 3 June until 15 July 2006. It then transferred to theDuke of York's Theatre.The production was directed byTrevor Nunnand featured the following cast:
- Jan –Rufus Sewell
- Max –Brian Cox
- Eleanor, Esme –Sinéad Cusack
- Interrogator, Nigel –Anthony Calf
- Ferdinand –Peter Sullivan
- Young Esme, Alice –Alice Eve
- Gillian, Magda, Deirdre – Miranda Colchester
- Piper, Police Officer 1, Stephen –Edward Hogg
- Milan, Police Officer 2, Jaroslav – Martin Chamberlain
- Lenka – Nicole Ansari
- Candida – Louise Bangay
Taking over from the principal actors mid-run were:
- Jan –Dominic West
- Max –David Calder
- Eleanor, Esme –Emma Fielding
- Young Esme/ Alice –Fiona Button
The production closed on 25 February 2007 at theDuke of York's Theatrebefore an announced transfer to Broadway in the autumn of 2007.
The premiere of the play was attended by first president of the post-CommunistCzech Republicand leading figure of theVelvet Revolution,Václav Havel(a friend of Stoppard's) androckstarMick Jagger,whose band,The Rolling Stones,features in the final scene of the play. Jagger has worked with Stoppard previously, having produced the filmEnigma,for which Stoppard wrote the screenplay, and has, along with his production company Jagged Films, "approached" Stoppard "for the movie rights" to the playRock 'n' Roll.[2]
Prague production
[edit]The play premiered in Prague's historicNational Theatre(Národní Divadlo) in February 2007. It features opening and closing performances byThe Plastic People of the Universe.
Broadway production
[edit]A Broadway (New York City) run of the play commenced in previews on 19 October 2007 and opened on 4 November 2007 at theBernard B. Jacobs Theatre.Several of the original cast members – includingSewell,CoxandCusack– appeared in the production that is directed byTrevor Nunn.The production had a strictly limited run and closed on 9 March 2008.
Other productions
[edit]The San Francisco production, directed byCarey Perloff,opened at theAmerican Conservatory Theateron 17 September 2008.[3]It then moved toBoston'sHuntington Theatre Company,who co-produced the production, on 7 November.[4]
The first UK production of the play outside London was at theLibrary Theatrein Manchester from 13 February to 14 March 2009.[5]
Teatre Lliureof Barcelona presentedRock 'n' Roll,in Catalan and directed by Àlex Rigola, as the opening show for the 2008–2009 season between 18 September and 19 October.[6]
Joy Zinoman, Founding Artistic Director of The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, will direct the play beginning 22 April 2009.[7]
The Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas producedRock 'n' Rollbeginning 24 April 2009, directed by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd.[8]
Goodman Theatreof Chicago hosted a production from 2 May through 7 June 2009.[9]
The Canadian premiere was atDawson Collegein Montréal Quebec in January 2009 directed by Douglas Buchanan.[10]
The Canadian Stage Companyof Toronto, Ontario featuredRock 'n' Rollin their 2009–2010 season between 28 September and 24 October.[11]
ACT Theatrein Seattle produced the play as part of their 2009 Season between 9 October and 8 November 2009.[12]
Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota producedRock 'n' Rollbeginning 15 January 2010, directed by Mary M. Finnerty.[13]
A production was staged atThe Questors Theatrein Ealing, West London, from 19 December 2009 to 2 January 2010.[14]
The San Jose Stage Company presented a new production ofRock 'n' Rollfrom 10 February to 7 March 2010.[15]
Horipropresented the first Japan production of the play at the Setagaya public theatre inSetagaya,Tokyo, from 3 to 29 August 2010.[16]
Belmont Abbey Collegein Belmont, North Carolina will produceRock 'n' Roll,directed by Simon Donoghue, beginning 24 February 2011.[17]
St. Louis Actors' Studio (stlas.org) ProducedRock 'n' Rollin November 2010
National Theater of Kosovowill also produceRock 'n' Rollbeginning January 2011.
Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Oyuncuları (YUO) started rehearsals in November 2010 for a Turkish production.
The Kavinoky Theatre in Buffalo, New York produced "Rock 'N' Roll" in 2011 from 4 March to 3 April
The Sydney Theatre, Sydney, production by the Melbourne Theatre Company from 11 April 2008 to 17 May 2008
Moscow's production opened 22 September 2011 inRAMT(Russian Academic Youth Theatre)[18]
The Guildford Acting School produced Rock 'N' Roll in 2023 from 25 to 27 May which featured MA & MFA Acting students in collaboration with BA Theatre Production and MA Stage & Production Management studentshttps://www.gsauk.org/events/39601AJRRLKSVBMNJSKBSJSPPVNLVSKDK/book
Hampstead Theatreproduced Rock 'N' Roll in 2023 from 6 December 2023 to 27 January 2024.[19]Nina Rainedirected. The cast includedNancy Carroll,Nathaniel Parker,andJacob Fortune-Lloyd.[20]
Notes
[edit]- ^Goetz-Stankiewicz, Markéta.The Vaněk Plays,University of British Columbia Press, 1987.
- ^"Jagger Set to Team Up with Stoppard",contactmusic.com,accessed 28 April 2007.
- ^American Conservatory Theater: Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' RollArchived14 September 2008 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Error | Huntington Theatre Company".huntingtontheatre.org.
- ^http://www.librarytheatre.com/whatson/archived.php/7/2009/1163/rock-n-roll[dead link]
- ^"L'obra" Rock'n'Roll "obrirà la temporada del Teatre Lliure".CCMA.15 September 2008.
- ^"The Studio Theatre: Washington, D.C.'s Home for Contemporary Theatre".studiotheatre.org.Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2009.
- ^"Alley Theatre Official Website – Whoops!".alleytheatre.org.
- ^"Error – General | Goodman Theatre".goodmantheatre.org.
- ^"Rock n Roll".
- ^"Canadian Stage's mission is to be the leading contemporary performing arts organization in the country".
- ^https://www.acttheatre.org/TicketsPlays/Play.aspx?prod=1836ACT/Rock 'n' Roll
- ^"Park Square Theatre – St. Paul, Minn".
- ^"Error".questors.org.uk.
- ^"THE STAGE: Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard".Archived fromthe originalon 6 February 2010.
- ^"Nhập lực エラー".
- ^Belmont Abbey College, Charlotte NC – Academics | Performing Arts – The Performing Arts Season Schedule – Liberal Arts:Catholic Benedictine heritage
- ^"РАМТ. Официальный сайт Российского академического Молодежного театра. О театре".ramt.ru.
- ^"ROCK 'N' ROLL".Hampstead Theatre.Retrieved25 February2024.
- ^Theatre, Hampstead (December 2023)."Rock-N-Roll Digital Programme"(PDF).hampsteadtheatre.com.
Bibliography
[edit]- Eno, Brian, and Mark Edwards."Czechs and Thugs and Rock’n’Roll"[dead link].The Times11 June 2006. Accessed 28 April 2007. [ "Tom Stoppard's new play centres on the pop band whose arrest launched a human-rights movement. He discusses how artists change the world." ]
- Lawson, Mark.Radio interview with Tom Stoppard.Front Row,BBC Radio 4,29 May 2006,RealAudio(30 mins.). Accessed 28 April 2007. (Listed onArts and Drama: Front Row,BBC Radio 4.Accessed 28 April 2007.)
- Mastalir, Linda."Tom Stoppard'sRock 'n' Roll.Radio Prague,Current Affairs. Transcript and audio file of a report on the play broadcast onRadio Pragueon 28 June 2006. Accessed 28 April 2007.