A friend introduced me to Stoppard in school, before I moved to Czechia, and it was long after that I realized his connection. This is a lovely rediscussion of dissent in a way that hopefully was more accessible to western audiences than some of the samizdat. ( )

Watching Cahoot's Macbeth has made me think about this play again.

I went to see it in a negative frame of mind. Fictional adaptation of history is what happens when writers run out of ideas. Not so, not so. This is such a good play. It imparts something that is important for people in soft societies to understand. Popular culture in a place like Czechoslovakia in the 1960s was really important. It was integral to politics.It changed lives. People fought for it and died for it. ( )

Watching Cahoot's Macbeth has made me think about this play again.

I went to see it in a negative frame of mind. Fictional adaptation of history is what happens when writers run out of ideas. Not so, not so. This is such a good play. It imparts something that is important for people in soft societies to understand. Popular culture in a place like Czechoslovakia in the 1960s was really important. It was integral to politics.It changed lives. People fought for it and died for it. ( )

For you, freedom means, ‘Leave me alone.’ For the masses it means, ‘Give me a chance.’

Wonderful exposition on the possibility of dissent. Layered with pop culture, the scene of Rock ‘N’ Roll switches back and forth between Cambridge and Prague from 1968 to 1992. A Czech grad student leaves the UK to return to Czechoslovakia as the Prague Spring comes to an untidy end. His academic advisor at Cambridge is a lifelong Marxist and myriad family dramas unfold across decades while the turntable provides a soundtrack.

There’s an intriguing rumination on the idea Moral Exhibitionism. There’s some obvious weight to that. The Velvet Revolution occurs (while The Velvet Underground dissemble after their famed legacy—Brian Eno said everyone who bought their first album started their own band) and life proceeds. The life of Syd Barrett is an interesting metaphor for such, maybe Gorbachev as well. Rock ‘n’ Roll was very reminiscent of Stoppard’s Arcadia, Open doors leading to gardens and High Table gossip. 4.6 stars— I’d love to see this performed. ( )

Há poucos dramaturgos tão ousados, inovadores e intelectuais quanto Tom Stoppard. Esta peça é sobre o domínio comunista no seu país natal, Tchecoslováquia, e o poder do rock and roll para ajudar a romper as brechas no regime totalitário. A música dos jovens provavelmente era mais influente e revolucionária do que as intermináveis ​​petições dos dissidentes. Como de costume, Stoppard, é mais inteligente, mais focado no político e no filosófico do que no verdadeiramente dramático. Não há dúvida de que ele foi o dramaturgo mais brilhante e espirituoso do século XX, mas suas peças podem ser obscuras às vezes. As cenas são separadas por segmentos de rock and roll de Rolling Stones, Plastic People, Pink Floyd, John Lennon e outros. As mulheres são mais vibrantes, mais dramaticamente potentes, mais convincentes e atraem mais resposta emocional do público do que seus personagens masculinos, que tagarelam sem parar, e que são mais políticos, mais teóricos e ineficazes. Uma cena perto do final do primeiro ato entre Max e sua esposa Eleanor, em que ela o confronta com o câncer que a mata, é emocionalmente desgastante, mas constitui o ponto alto dramático. ( )