UG - Syllabus Drama and Play

UG - Syllabus Drama and Play

All My Sons by Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller's All My Sons is a theatrical work that was first performed in 1946. The play comprises of three acts and premiered on January 29, 1947, at the Coronet Theatre in New York City. Directed by Elia Kazan, the production featured a star-studded cast including Ed Begley, Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Karl Malden. It ran for a total of 328 performances, closing on November 8, 1947. All My Sons won the prestigious New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and two Tony Awards, for Best Author and Best Direction of a Play. Dedicated to Kazan, the play was adapted into films twice, in 1948 and 1987.

Othello by William Shakespeare

Othello, also known as The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1603. The play primarily revolves around two main characters, Othello and Iago.

Othello is a Moorish military commander serving as the general of the Venetian army, who is tasked with defending Cyprus against an invasion by the Ottoman Turks. He has recently married Desdemona, a young and wealthy Venetian woman, against the wishes of her father. Iago, Othello's deceitful ensign, cunningly manipulates his master's jealousy, ultimately leading the otherwise calm and collected Moor to kill his beloved wife in a fit of unbridled fury. With its timeless themes of love, envy, and prejudice, Othello remains relevant and beloved, and is frequently adapted and performed across the globe.

Reunion - W. St. John Taylor

The play depicts how soldiers who once made promises to sacrifice their lives for their nation and society become selfish and disregard their values after the war. Four friends - George Carter, Reverend Philip Rowlands, Mark Tallis, and Peter Ransome - reunite in an exclusive West End Hotel ten years after they made a pact to meet if they survived the war. They catch up on their intervening years, and the audience learns that George Carter, Mark Tallis, and Reverend Rowlands have become successful in their respective fields. However, Ransome has struggled to find success and is about to emigrate to the United States in search of opportunities.

In their conversation, the four friends wonder about the fate of their other comrades, Sergeant Smith and Colin Grayson. Reverend Rowlands recalls Colin Grayson's sacrifice when he ventured into enemy territory to save others' lives. Grayson had received fatal wounds and was taken away by the enemy as a prisoner of war. At this point, a changed-looking Grayson enters the room, startling his friends. They thought he was dead, but he informs them that he survived and was held captive by the enemy. Grayson's penetrating questions expose his friends' compromised values and ideals. He reveals George Carter's corrupt practices, which led to Sergeant Smith's suicide, Mark Tallis's compromised intellectual integrity, Reverend Rowlands's abandonment of his East Mission, and Ransome's desertion of his motherland.

Grayson then makes the most startling revelation: he is not Colin Grayson, but his brother John Grayson. Before Colin died, he wrote a letter to John about his comrades, their lives, and future aspirations, and directed him to attend the promised reunion in his stead. John confronts Colin's friends about the futility of Colin's sacrifice. They have dishonored their friend's heroism and sacrifice by forsaking their nobler goals for their personal ambitions. John Grayson leaves, hoping that in the future, his friends would be true to their promises by leaving their personal means and ends behind.

Ghashiram Kotwal by Vijay Tendulkar

Ghashiram Kotwal is a thought-provoking Marathi play penned by Vijay Tendulkar in 1972 in response to the emergence of a local political party in Maharashtra. This historical drama, which doubles as a political satire, delves into the life of Nana Phadnavis (1741–1800), a renowned minister in the Peshwa of Pune's court, and Ghashiram Kotwal, the city's police chief. The central theme of the play centers around how individuals in positions of authority concoct ideologies to serve their interests, only to discard them when they are no longer useful. On December 16, 1972, the Progressive Dramatic Association staged the play for the first time in Pune. Jabbar Patel's 1973 production of the play is considered a masterpiece of contemporary Indian Theatre.

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