Peter Weiss Books

Marat/Sade is an excellent script. for all of you out there who love the book and the story come To Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, november 20th through the 24th for a fabulous performance of the show. call the box office at 1-440-826-2240. ask for tony and if he's there tell him u saw this.

This book is written both as a script of the play and a narrative of the action of the players(inmates). It's fantastic. I loaned the book to someone years ago and never got it back. If anyone knows where I can get a copy, please email me!

I have to say that this is an absolutly beautiful piece of literature. The language rolls off the tounge like a symphony with a harmonizing dissonance. The story itself is so simple yet complicated all at the same time. The emotion that one feels after reading this is numbing. You sit there not knowing what to say and think.

The play was puton by actors from my school and it was terrific. I cannot wait to read the book. I give the play and book(in advance)5 stars and my gratitude that this play and book exist.

MARAT/SADE

"This play-within-a-play is about pushing at the limits", said Dramaturg William Lewis Evans.

I first saw the play performed by students of the Bishop's College School Studio Theatre in Lennoxville, Quebec. The text was phenomenally stimulating. The play was memorable, intense, and for the audience at least, indeed a little scary. Marat/Sade, after all, is the practical quintessence of what Antonin Artaud called the Theatre of Cruelty - theatre of the visceral and disturbing - theatre that "wakes us up, mind and heart". The highlight of that Canadian gala, for me, was when I witnessed an audience member and retired member of the French Foreign Legion (an outstanding citoyen-expatrie who should remain nameless) stand up - in the middle of this High School play - and leave the theatre in protest.

The play was, and remains, exceedingly powerful.

Years later I saw the play performed by Yale students in New Haven, Connecticut. If I remember correctly, Loren Stein directed. At one point during the performance, it became clear to the audience that one of the patients - an actor - had, during the course of the performance, in fact urinated on an audience member. As a reporter for Radio in New Haven, I interrogated that audience member at the end of the night, and caught a soundbite.

She said:

"It was wonderful. I don't know what else to say. This is Theatre, I guess. Real theatre."

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that this play should end up out of print, along with a dozen or so others like it, and be replaced on your roster with the latest celebrity-authored self-help books.

Maybe Oprah Winfrey will teach me how to fry tofu. It seems to be all we have a taste for anymore.

Franklin Pryce Raff

While certainly a brilliant play, I should mention that this edition differs slightly from the edition I used while in the United Kingdom. Aside from the typical spelling changes, certain words were changed slightly in meaning (Coulmier's "This is outright defeatism!" vs. "...outright pacifism!"). The biggest crime, however, was a drastic reduction of the final scene.

The UK edition features an extended Epilogue, including an explanation from Sade, the "resurrection" and counter-explanation of Marat, and a giant poster of Napoleon during the parade scene. In this edition, some of the Herald's lines were given to Coulmier to apparently bridge the gap.

All of the descriptions, introductions, notes, and even inclusion of musical scores remain identical. If given a choice, I would certainly look for that edition, as it is somewhat more fulfilling. (It features a standard black & white cover with no pink trim)

I found the title of Peter Weiss's play so interesting that I bought his play on an impulse. I half expected it to be unreadably pretentious, but in fact I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to see it actually performed, but I live over a thousand miles from where that might be happening. One advantage of reading the play is that the author's comments are available.

I knew very little beyond the superficial about Sade or Marat, so I was somewhat surprised to discover that Sade actually wrote plays while confined in Charenton that were performed by the inmates, and that Marat was a scientist who expressed ideas well ahead of his time. I was inspired to learn more about Marat, so I read his essay ARE WE UNDONE, in which he urges: "The cutting off of five or six hundred heads would have guaranteed your peace, liberty and happiness." In the play he justifies this savagery by insisting (p. 113): "We do not murder we kill in self-defence." (It might very well be our beloved president speaking). If Marat was made the scapegoat for the Reign of Terror, it was not without foundation.

Weiss writes that what interested him "in bringing Sade and Marat together was the conflict between an individualism carried to extreme lengths and the idea of a political and social upheaval. Speaking to Marat, Sade says (p. 131), "these cells of the inner self are worse than the deepest stone dungeon as long as they are locked all your Revolution remains only a prison mutiny to be put down by corrupted fellow-prisoners." This dovetails interestingly with Sade's comment to his wife when she complained that one could not approve of his mode of thought (p. 147): "My mode of thought is the result of my reflections, it is a part of my life, of my own nature. It is not in my power to alter it, and if it were in my power I should not do it." This brings to mind Schopenhauer's reflection that "You can do what you want, but you cannot want what you want." Thus do Sade and Marat imprison themselves within their own grubby little minds. Sade claims, in this play at least, (p.72), "In a criminal society I dug the criminal out of myself so I could understand him and so understand the times we live in." His mode of thought makes this sort of understanding improbable.

However, as with all pessimistic assertions, this is not really true. With just a moment's honest reflection it is obvious enough that most of what makes up our "nature" is purely haphazard, and our "reflections" are just an obsessive rehashing of petty grievances and sexual fantasies that that we come to mistake for our true nature.

Maybe you have seen the film "Quills" and it has sparked an interest in you about the Marquis de Sade. Or maybe you are a history buff and are interested in the time of the French revolution, or perhaps you just love a really good thought-provoking play. If any of those things holds your interest you are in for a really marvelous read. 'The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat as performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under The Direction of Marquis de Sade"(by Peter Weiss) is the full title of this book, but is AKA "Marat/Sade" and various editions may be found under either title. The edition I am reviewing is the English version(original is German) by Geoffrey Skelton.

So Marat/Sade is a play within a play with definite messages concerning "Revolution" and the effects on both the masses and the leaders. The setting is a fictional one, but uses the basis of historical events and characters to tell the story. The play inside this play is written and produced by Sade and performed by the inmates of Charenton where he spent so many years imprisoned for his writing, considered socially unacceptable and outrageous. The year it is being performed is 1808 but the events surrounding the story are happening on July 13, 1793, the day Charlotte Corday stabbed Jean-Paul Marat.

It is the day of the assassination. Marat, Sade, Corday,and political activists of the time argue back and forth about the reasoning and atrocities surrounding the Revolution and the state of Terror. The points going back and forth(sometimes in song) has the inmates(the rest of the cast), being easily swayed and worked up into a state of frenzy, all the while building to the stabbing. What is morally right and wrong? Heads are rolling - literally - who are the sane ones here - are the inmates running the asylum - so to speak?Even Columier(progressive director of the institution and supporter of freedom in arts)has trouble with the play when he feels it goes to far against the establishment.

This book, first published in 1965 grasps not only the horrific events of the 18th century, it is also certainly a statement on the international events of the 1960's. It will still provoke thought and may translate to some of the atrocities going on in the world today. Author Peter Weiss, seems to have really gotten into the heads of Sade, Marat and the others giving intellectual and provocative dialogue to the players. The scenes are well set for the stage, and excellent descriptions are given for each character making it very easy to visualize the entire play.

The books includes character descriptions - even down to subtle items in the wardrobe that would distinguish their roles, author's note on the historical background of the play,the music and words to the songs, and a brief bio of Weiss. I don't speak German(the 2 semesters I took in college nearly 40 years ago is long forgotten), but I have to say I don't feel like anything was lost in the translation of this play.

I would highly recommend this play to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, politics, infamous characters, and even if you are part of an acting group looking for an interesting and provocative play, you should have a look at this one.

This is a keeper and one to be read repeated times...enjoy the read...Laurie

Written in the early sixties, the play frequently abbreviated as Marat/Sade is set in 1808, yet many of the comments are distinctly directed toward current events, notably the upheavals in Eastern Europe. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Union behind us, the play takes on even greater significance. Despite the reassurances of the asylum director, whether a mere fifteen years or well over two hundred years have passed, the nature of revolutions, and the fanatics who cause them, has not changed. Combining historical events with modern theatrics, Weiss has produced what has been and will continue to be one of the most disturbing, as well as one of the most important works ever to be performed on stage.

I first heard of this play around 30 years ago when it was performed by the upper classes of my school in England. I never forgot it and decided recently to purchase the play and to read it.
The story takes place in an insane asylum in France around the time of the French Revolution, where The Marquis de Sade was kept for a number of years. He wrote a play about the revolutionary - Jean-Paul Marat, which was performed by the inmates of the asylum.
However, the play is much more than that. It really is a commentary about about how people behave toward one another during terrible periods of time.
I think it is a remarkable play - sometimes a little horrifying - but very well worth while picking up to read. I whole heartedly recommend it.

This book is a real treat for kids of every age, from 1-92! It has it all -from Christmas Carols to Festive Traditions to Christmas Cookies and Holiday Recipies. There are Christmas Stories and Wishes and Treats - and anything else you could ever need to create Magical Christmas Memories! This is one of Santa's Favorites! It's sure to become one of yours too!

Filled with stories, legends, songs, and recipes, The Everything Christmas Book is a fun read, as well as an authoritative reference. The editors observe that the true spirit of Christmas is a sense of wonder and "this book is intended as a celebration of that wonder."

They begin with the history of Christmas and how it "evolved over many centuries, enduring occasional tribulation, scrutiny, and abolishment along the way." Folklore, such as why red and green are Christmas colors, complements the historical facts. They also explain how decorated trees and Santa Claus became a part of contemporary Christmas celebrations.

The chapters on stories and poems include such well-known tales as Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and Moore's "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," in addition to other favorites. Music and complete lyrics are provided for forty Christmas carols. The list of Christmas videos contains more than fifty titles.

Do you know in what year "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was first broadcast or when "Miracle on 34th Street" was first released in movie theaters? These are two of the 106 questions included in "The Ultimate Mass-Media Christmas Trivia Quiz." (Answers are at the end of the chapter!)

If you're up to a little traveling, check out the section on local festivities. Tree-lighting ceremonies, parades, Yule log celebrations, feasts, and lighting festivals are available all across the States. The editors provide times and contact information for each event listed.

No Christmas is complete without lots of good food, and the editors have selected a tantalizing sample of holiday recipes, including wassail and "Special Green and Red Vegetable Salad." Recipes are divided into sections for breakfasts and brunches, appetizers, side dishes, main courses and accompaniments, sweets and desserts, and drinks.

The next chapter offers recipes for gift-giving. And yes, it does include fruitcakes!

The editors conclude with a section on how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world and a discussion of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

The Everything Christmas Book is an ideal gift for people of all ages and interests. Be sure to get a copy for yourself also--it will soon become a treasured favorite.

Not meant for anyone younger than 18. But definitely a play that every single person on the planet should experience. If nothing else, it will remind you of how dangerous the world can be if we don't take care of each other, and what will happen again if we continue to turn our backs on the horrors that still go on today.
As an actor who has had the opportunity to perform a production of 'The Investigation' I offer a word of warning. This play will upset you, anger you, and destroy you. Merely reading the words on the page is bad enough, performing them - trying to re-emulate what really happened turns you inside out. As my director said - 'You'll be glad you did this, you'll be even gladder when it's over'. What is contained within the pages of this play is the human condition at it's absolute worse. You read about the ones who survived - and what they had to do in order to survive, and you read about those who were just 'following orders'. And the question you ask yourself when you are finished reading this is not 'What would I have done?', but, 'Would I have survived?'

One of the most powerful readings of my life. I'd never heard of Weiss though I knew about the holocaust. Thinking of the death of millions of jews, gypsies, communists, mentally retarded and other 'undesirables' is always hard. A Series of Cantos from the transcripts of trials of Nazis in Germany after WWII. Weiss focuses on inviduals from this mass of innocent victims producing a tale to chill the heart, make any human cry and fill up with rage at the same time. The monstrous nazis have no shame or sense of guilt. Those who have survived the butchery give their case to the derision of those in the dock. Prosiac in language, overwhelming in tragedy. The sadistic ... Nazis are exposed. The simple humanism of their victims is eloquent and the reading is unforgettable

Some people are turned off by the black and white reprints like these essentials. But you get so much for the money, and there's hours of reading enjoyment. These essentials are a great way to read or reread comics from the past, without having to fork out the large bucks that the after market sellers are asking. Granted some of these issues are corny, but they're still enjoyable to a 40 year old like myself, who grew up reading these issues.

The Investigation is a poetic condensation of the court record of the trial, held in a German court in 1964-1965, of twenty-one persons who participated in the destruction of four million people at the concentration camp of Auschwitz in the years 1941-1945

Peter Weiss, whose Marat/Sade was hailed throughout the world as a major theatrical innovation, has chosen this way to bring these events to the stage. The dialogue of The Investigation was not invented. Rather, the actual testimony of the accused and their accusors has been distilled to bring out what is essential to the author's vision.

Central to that vision is a documentation of the outstanding negative achievement of our civilization: the use of the concentrated power of a modern technology by a sophisticated leadership to draw a highly civilized people into participation, active or passive, in the irrational destruction of a segment of its own population which had been designated worthless.

From the testimony of the survivors comes a literal and sickening account of the procedures at Auschwitz, the gas chambers, the mass cremations, the starvations, the brutality, the medical experimentation - all parts of a routine whose goal was impersonal efficiency in exterminating large numbers of people.

But the accused, who since the war have led conventional and useful lives, cannot be made to understand that obeying orders at Auschwitz twenty years ago constituted a crime. "The witnesses felt guilt," Peter Weiss has said of the trial; "the accused felt none."

The Investigation raises inescapable questions about the citizen's relation to the society in which hew lives. To what extent is he accountable for his own actions? Does conformity with a prevailing social of political code of behavior absolve him of individual responsibility? If his government, purporting to act for the good of the whole society, enforces a code that conflicts with his own convictions, should he resist - and when - and how?
--- from book's back cover

Every voter should take the time to better understand this candidate for the presidency; I am disappointed that the press has done so little to promote this book as a tool to better understand and appreciate all that Joe Biden is and has accomplished in his career. It is honestly written and gives a clear picture of an honorable man, confident enough to admit and learn from his mistakes and shows the advantages of his experience and ability to grow and change with the times.

No hay otro libro donde uno puede entender la mentalidad de Weiss, un dramaturgo que a través de sus obras nos muestra documentos de guerras. El teatro documento, es una forma de mostrar esa realidad que muchos vivieron y otros no, denunciando los horrores de la guerra, moviendo la conciencia social mundial para que se conozcan estos crimenes, que hasta el día de hoy siguen y seguirán sucediendo.

Even though this is an older movie, it is a good one. This is just one of Stephen Kings better movies. Sometimes the movie does not do the book justice however this one is pretty close.

He was in a coma for five years, He wakes up thinking the nurses little girl is in a fire. He took a wrong ture somewhere.

The Dead Zone (Special Collector's Edition)

This movie is going out of print and the only place that I could find it is on Amazon.com. This is the best version and is not the series on TV, which was based on this movie.

Christopher Walken plays the heck out of this movie. After a near death accident, and 5 years in a coma, he is given powers to see things that has happened in the past and that which may happen in the future.

His visions saves a girl from burning in a fire, is able to help his doctor contact his mother who he thought was dead in WW II, help the police find a serial killer, and is able to prevent a boy he is tutoring from going ice skating which would have led to his death by falling through the ice.

The age old question is can a person with these kind of powers intervene into history to change it? The big test comes when Walken decides to use his powers to stop a candidate for the Presidency who is seen as one day going to push the nuclear button. Walken gets these visions by holding a person's hand or from some other bodily contact. Each time he uses his powers, life drains from his ever weakening body.

Walken plays the heck out the scenes in which he goes into his visions. A collector's must for I never really see this movie ever being played on TV.

I would consider this movie a "Classic"! Why? Well you have Christopher Walken, dudes! He's plays an average guy blessed/coursed with a gift of precognition(seeing future events). Johnny(Christopher Walken) had everything, a girlfriend, a teaching job and a postive future ahead of him. But like always those things were taken away by accident!! Johnny lost everything. Maybe even his humanity too by this gift. His sloves a murder and saves a couple of lives. But it doesn't end their folks!!
Just take a chance and buy it!!! it's great!

Christopher Walken + seeing the future events = A Fanastic Movie!!

This is one of my favorite David Cronenberg films, not only is he a very underrated filmmaker but he is also one of the best. His films have some of the smartest storylines even though they can be abit weird. This has got to be Christopher Walken's best role ever his acting was just brilliant and he was perfect as the highschool teacher Johny Smith you really do feel his pain and frustration as his situation couldn't get any worse due to the circumstances. The film was based on the Stephen King novel The Dead Zone its about a highschool teacher Johny Smith who emerges from a five year coma to find he has developed psychic powers to see past and future events, the reason why he was in a come was because he was in a car accident on the way out of his girlfriends house. When he wakes from the coma he finds out that many things have changed including his girlfriend who also happens to be the love of his life got married to another guy, this obviously doesn't go well with John. The film had so many other elements like drama, supernatural, suspense ect. that it became a very interesting and unique film and the great performance by Walken also helps he commands the viewers attention if it weren't for him then I wouldn't think that this film would have been as successful. The film also stars Martin Sheen as the greedy, corrupt and evil politician Greg Stilson who does anything he can to get the peoples vote Martin Sheen's character was unforgettable and was also quite menacing, when Johny touches his hand as he shakes it during a political rally he gets a very dark vision of the future and he is soon asking himself if he could prevent this from happening or not. This was definitely an excellent film that I highly recommend and make sure that you avoid that awful T.V. show that was based on this film trust me that show was crap!.

Even though this is an older movie, it is a good one. This is just one of Stephen Kings better movies. Sometimes the movie does not do the book justice however this one is pretty close.

He was in a coma for five years, He wakes up thinking the nurses little girl is in a fire. He took a wrong ture somewhere.

The Dead Zone (Special Collector's Edition)

This movie is going out of print and the only place that I could find it is on Amazon.com. This is the best version and is not the series on TV, which was based on this movie.

Christopher Walken plays the heck out of this movie. After a near death accident, and 5 years in a coma, he is given powers to see things that has happened in the past and that which may happen in the future.

His visions saves a girl from burning in a fire, is able to help his doctor contact his mother who he thought was dead in WW II, help the police find a serial killer, and is able to prevent a boy he is tutoring from going ice skating which would have led to his death by falling through the ice.

The age old question is can a person with these kind of powers intervene into history to change it? The big test comes when Walken decides to use his powers to stop a candidate for the Presidency who is seen as one day going to push the nuclear button. Walken gets these visions by holding a person's hand or from some other bodily contact. Each time he uses his powers, life drains from his ever weakening body.

Walken plays the heck out the scenes in which he goes into his visions. A collector's must for I never really see this movie ever being played on TV.

I would consider this movie a "Classic"! Why? Well you have Christopher Walken, dudes! He's plays an average guy blessed/coursed with a gift of precognition(seeing future events). Johnny(Christopher Walken) had everything, a girlfriend, a teaching job and a postive future ahead of him. But like always those things were taken away by accident!! Johnny lost everything. Maybe even his humanity too by this gift. His sloves a murder and saves a couple of lives. But it doesn't end their folks!!
Just take a chance and buy it!!! it's great!

Christopher Walken + seeing the future events = A Fanastic Movie!!

This is one of my favorite David Cronenberg films, not only is he a very underrated filmmaker but he is also one of the best. His films have some of the smartest storylines even though they can be abit weird. This has got to be Christopher Walken's best role ever his acting was just brilliant and he was perfect as the highschool teacher Johny Smith you really do feel his pain and frustration as his situation couldn't get any worse due to the circumstances. The film was based on the Stephen King novel The Dead Zone its about a highschool teacher Johny Smith who emerges from a five year coma to find he has developed psychic powers to see past and future events, the reason why he was in a come was because he was in a car accident on the way out of his girlfriends house. When he wakes from the coma he finds out that many things have changed including his girlfriend who also happens to be the love of his life got married to another guy, this obviously doesn't go well with John. The film had so many other elements like drama, supernatural, suspense ect. that it became a very interesting and unique film and the great performance by Walken also helps he commands the viewers attention if it weren't for him then I wouldn't think that this film would have been as successful. The film also stars Martin Sheen as the greedy, corrupt and evil politician Greg Stilson who does anything he can to get the peoples vote Martin Sheen's character was unforgettable and was also quite menacing, when Johny touches his hand as he shakes it during a political rally he gets a very dark vision of the future and he is soon asking himself if he could prevent this from happening or not. This was definitely an excellent film that I highly recommend and make sure that you avoid that awful T.V. show that was based on this film trust me that show was crap!.