British Universities Film & Video Council

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Plebians Rehearse the Uprising, The

Alternative title
Plebejer Proben den Aufstand
Synopsis
Live audio recording of Günther Grass’s play that was inspired by the Stalin-Allee worker’s march against the headquarters of the Socialist Unity Party in East Berlin on June 17, 1953 and the reaction of intellectuals and artists such as Bertolt Brecht who failed to respond to the uprising by separating himself from the workers. In his introduction to the play Grass notes that Brecht was working on his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus in which the audience’s sympathy is redirected towards the plebians. The play is Grass’ indictment of Brecht for failing his responsibilities as head of the Berliner Ensemble. The play begins with the managing-director of an acting company leading professional actors and working-class stand-ins through a rehearsal of his new adaptation of Coriolanus. [Description with acknowledgment to Amy Scott-Douglas, op cit].
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Audio
Recording date
23 Nov 1970

Credits

Director
David Jones
Writer
Günter Grass
Cast
Peggy AshcroftVolumnia (Volumnia)
Alton KumaloWelder
Anne DysonMachinist
Boyd MackenzieRoadworker
David BailieKozanka
David DundasMechanic
David SinclairCrane operator
Denis HolmesForeman
Don HendersonPlasterer
Emrys JamesBoss
Geoffrey HutchingsPodulla
Janet HenfreyFlavia
John BerwynVarro
Lisa HarrowHairdresser
Michael GambonWiebe
Michael ShannonCarpenter
Morgan SheppardMason
Nicholas SelbyErwin
Peter GeddisItthenner
Peter MessalineKowalskil
Peter MessalineCoctor
Pip DonaghyRufus
Richard MayesHod-carrier
Roger ReesDamschke

Additional Details

Theatre
Aldwych Theatre, London
Theatre company
Royal Shakespeare Company
Production type
Other
Plays
Coriolanus
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Brecht, Bertolt (1898-1956); Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Rehearsals

Notes

Reviews
Amy Scott-Douglas, ‘Theatre’ in Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006 (entry 3637).

Archive

Name

British Library Sound Archive

Email
listening@bl.uk
Web
http://www.bl.uk/nsa External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7412 7676
Fax
020 7412 7441
Address
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB

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