Octave Mirbeau: Two Plays
"Business is Business" and "Charity"
Distributed for Intellect Ltd
Octave Mirbeau was one of the most prolific literary figures of France’s storied Belle Époque, and his innovative theatrical works are only recently being rediscovered and appreciated by modern audiences. Here for the first time in English-language translation are his two most celebrated and successful plays: Business is Business, a classical comedy of manners recalling Molière; and Charity, a satirical comedy centered around the exploitation of adolescents in a dubious charity home. In addition to the play texts, this volume also includes an introduction contextualizing the works and the translation and adaptation process.
"This book will be of value not only to those interested in post-Dreyfus France and its culture, politics and history, but also to those interested in theatre per se. As a specialist in fin-de-siècle European culture, I would recommend it to teachers of the period. As someone who has been involved with student productions of French theatre, I would also recommend it as an excellent choice."—Richard Hibbitt, University of Leeds
"These two remarkable plays belatedly reintroduce the comic world of Octave Mirbeau to the theatrical canon. Mirbeau's theatre is firmly in the mould of the French comedy of manners, but is savage in its condemnation of the hypocrisies that underpin his—and our—society. These plays are subversive, political, and above all, funny."—Sean Foley, award-winning playwright and director
Introduction
Octave Mirbeau: A Theatre Chronology
Business Is Business, a comedy in three acts
(Les Affaires sont les affaires, 1903)
Charity, a comedy in three acts
(Le Foyer, 1908)
Literature and Literary Criticism: Dramatic Works
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