Publication details
Between a Protest and Catastrophe
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Litteraria Pragensia |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://litteraria-pragensia.ff.cuni.cz/front.issue/detail/52 |
| Keywords | Beckett; Havel; prison; Catastrophe; Mistake |
| Description | Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe (1982) is protest writing, but not as we know it. It is the only Beckett play dedicated to a political prisoner, thus going against the grain of his efforts both as writer and director to avoid "explicitation" of his work. Because of this, the play remains at the centre of critical debate on the politics of his writing. This article examines the context of Catastrophe's composition and early productions, drawing on evidence from manuscripts as well as correspondence between Beckett and Havel, while also considering Havel's dramatic response to Beckett's play, Chyba [Mistake] (1983), as the kind of representational account of prison brutality that Beckett's writing avoids. |