Pirandello - Collected Plays - Volume 4 - As You Desire Me & Think it Over Giacomino! & This Time It Will Be Different & The Imbecile

This fourth volume of Pirandello’s “Collected Plays” contains four plays written between 1916 and 1930 and covers most of the productive years of Pirandello’s life

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Pirandello in 20th century theatre. Like Ibsen and Chekhov he held a mirror to life - tilted to bring out the tragedies, absurdities and banalties that are present in the human condition. Like those who followed him, (Beckett, Brecht and Ionesco in particular) he uses the stage in radical new ways - mingling waking reality with dreams and allowing us to see the truth behind appearences that may not be so clear to the characters he portrays

Pirandello is one of the most seminal figures of modern theatre, but his influence can be seen everywhere in the great expressionist, surrealist and other movements of 20th century art. In addition, he is as entertaining as he is thought-provoking - a Pirandello performance is an unforgettable event

Robert Rietti has revised the accepted translations and commissioned new ones. These must be the definitive versions through which new generations will get to know Pirandello

Many of Pirandello’s plays, like the first in this volume, are based on real events which seem unlikely. Others reflect the nobility of Greek tragedy. The last play is in the Italian ‘beffa’ tradition of the practical joke that goes wrong