Boguslaw Schaeffer: An Anthology (Oberon Modern Playwrights)

By: Boguslaw Schaeffer and Magda Romanska

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Synopsis: I place Boguslaw Schaeffer's genius firmly at the centre of the European cultural heritage which expressed avant-gardism during my lifetime.' Richard DemarcoThis anthology of plays by Boguslaw Schaeffer, a Polish playwright, composer, musicologist and graphic designer, includes his most frequently performed works: Scenario for a Non-Existing, but Possible Instrumental Actor (1976), Quartet for Four Actors (1979), and Scenario for Three Actors (1987). The plays are examples of Instrumental Theatre. Like Schaeffer’s microtonal compositions, they are carefully structured and employ cyclical repetitions, and codes. Schaeffer’s most famous instrumental play, the Quartet for Four Actors, has been so successful that it has been staged by practically every Polish theatre. Scenario for a Non-Existing, but Possible Instrumental Actor, opened in 1976 and has since been staged over 1,500 times around the world. During its 40-year run, it has been critically acclaimed and has won many awards, including the 1995 Grand Prix at New York’s Theatre Festival. Winner of many prestigious international awards, Scenario for Three Actors, has been a permanent fixture in many Polish theatres since its premiere. Schaeffer is a universal artist, unafraid to explore a range of fields, forms, and subject matter, and his theatre, like his music, defies previous, established conventions and techniques, surprising its audiences with innovative and invigorating form and style.