Chatsky & Miser, Miser! Two Plays by Anthony Burgess (paperback)

Two Plays by Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess was an energetic writer and composer, whose work for the stage is widely admired. In Two Plays, we see him tackling major monuments of French and Russian theatre: The Miser by Molière and Chatsky by Alexander Griboyedov.

Miser, Miser! is a bold reworking of Molière’s classic comedy of 1668. Harpagon the miser is hoarding a pile of gold, which he has buried in his garden. As he tries to sell off his daughter, catch himself a beautiful young bride and outwit his scheming household of clever servants, the comedy of errors intensifies.

Although the original French play is written in prose, Burgess remakes it in a mixture of verse and prose, in the style of his famous adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. This translation, discovered in the author’s archive, is the work of a writer at the height of his powers, reinventing Molière for modern audiences.

Chatsky, subtitled ‘The Importance of Being Stupid’ is another verse comedy. The theme is that of the intellectual hero who rebels against the smug, philistine society in which he finds himself. First performed in 1833, Griboyedov’s play was so heavily cut by Russian  censors that it was barely recognisable. The play is a virtuoso vehicle for male actors, and the source of many famous quotations. It is also notoriously difficult to translate. In Chatsky, Burgess remakes a classic Russian play in the spirit of Oscar Wilde. It is a great feast of language and invective.

The complete texts of both plays are published here for the first time. Two Plays confirms Anthony Burgess’s reputation as a gifted writer for the stage, and as a translator of great wit and sophistication.

MISER, MISER! CASTING: 7 men, 3 women
CHATSKY CASTING: 9 men, 7 women

Chatsky was first performed at the Almeida Theatre in London in 1993, featuring Colin Firth, Minnie Driver and Jemma Redgrave, in a production directed by Jonathan Kent.

Anthony Burgess’s Chatsky: a new podcast:

The podcast includes extracts from Chatsky, performed by Paul Barnhill, and an archive audio recording of Anthony and Liana Burgess performing the play at home. Click here to listen.