Difference between revisions of "Edmund Kean"

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Fitzsimons, Raymund    Edmund Kean : fire from heaven / by Raymund Fitzsimons.   London :  Hamilton,  c1976
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''[[Edmund Kean]]'' is a play by Raymund Fitzsimons ()[].  
  
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. ''Edmund Kean'' is a play about the mystery of talent and its sometimes flawed human embodiment. As staged by Alison Sutcliffe (Mr. Kingsley's wife), it presents a fascinating portrait of a man who rose from obscurity to the pinnacle of fame, who yearned for esteem and scorned respectability, who kept a pet lion, who compared himself to Byron and Napoleon, and whose accomplishments could not survive his excesses. In the end, a broken actor, Kean personifies the mythic figure of Shakespeare's imagery - ''a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,/And then is heard no more. . . .'' All of his defiant mockery and bravado have been dissipated. Never a sympathetic figure, he becomes pitiable, or at least understandable.
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''The play is simply billed as '''[[Kean]]''' in some cases.''
  
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Source: Barrow, Brian & Williams-Short, Yvonne (eds.). 1988. Theatre Alive! The Baxter Story 1977-1987.
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==The original text==
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Return to [[ESAT Plays 1 E|E]] in Plays 1 Original SA Plays
 
  
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Return to [[ESAT Plays 2 E|E]] in Plays 2 Foreign Plays
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The play is based on Fitzsimon's own biographical book ''[[Edmund Kean: Fire From Heaven]]'' (1976), the play offers a look at the life of the early 19th century actor Edmund Kean (1787-1833)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kean], and explores the mystery of talent - and its (sometimes flawed) human embodiment.
  
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Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Plays]]
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First performed in August 1981 at the Harrogate Theatre, then in London with [[Ben Kingsley]] in the role of Kean. The production opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on 27 September, 1983.
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No evidence of a published text has been found so far.
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'''Interesting note''':
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According to the [[Wikipedia]] entry on Kean,  there have been a number of plays about the actor over the years, all entitled '''''[[Kean]]''''', beginning with a drama by Alexandre Dumas, père, in 1836, and followed by a comedy by Jean-Paul Sartre (1953), a Broadway musical by Peter Stone, Robert Wright, and George Forrest (1961), a BBC Play of the Month (1978) and a tragicomedy by Grigoriy Gorin, (called ''[[Kean VI]]'', 1991). Interestingly enough, no mention is made of the Fitzsimons play ''[[Edmund Kean]]'' under discussion here, even though the 1983 TV version thereof '''is'''.
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==Translations and adaptations==
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The play was adapted for television and performed by Ben Kinsley in 1983, under the title ''[[Kean]]''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328016/].
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== Performance history in South Africa ==
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1985: Performed as ''[[Kean]]'', produced by [[Pieter Toerien]] (by arrangement with Duncan C. Weldon) and directed by [[Rex Garner]], with [[Michael Richard]] as "Kean". Designs by [[Jannie Swanepoel]], costumes by [[Noreen Sterling]], choreography by [[Jimmy Bell]]. It opened in the [[Leonard Rayne Theatre]] on 12 June for a run in Johannesburg, then moved to the [[Baxter Theatre|Baxter Studio]] for a Cape Town run.
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== Sources ==
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kean
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http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsF/fitzsimons-raymund.html
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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328016/
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[[Brian Barrow]] and [[Yvonne Williams-Short]] (eds.). 1988. ''Theatre Alive! The Baxter Story 1977-1987''. Cape Town: [[The Baxter Theatre]].
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''[[Edmund Kean]]'' theatre programme, [[Pieter Toerien]] 1985.
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[[Kerneels Breytenbach]]. 1985. Richard verstom as "tragediant", ''[[Die Burger]]'', 10 Augustus, 1985.
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[[Fiona Chisholm]]. 1985. Richard has an oral Rolls-Royce, ''[[Cape Times]]'' (an undated press cutting, [[ESAT archive]]).
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Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
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== Return to ==
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Return to [[South_African_Films]]
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Return to [[PLAYS I: Original SA plays]]
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Return to [[PLAYS II: Foreign plays]]
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Return to [[PLAYS III: Collections]]
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Return to [[PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances]]
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Return to [[South_African_Festivals|South African Festivals and Competitions]]
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Return to [[South_African_Radio/Plays|South African Radio Plays and Serials]]
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Return to [[South_African_Television/Plays|South African Television Plays and Series]]
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Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
  
 
Return to [[Main Page]]
 
Return to [[Main Page]]
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Latest revision as of 15:39, 9 January 2024

Edmund Kean is a play by Raymund Fitzsimons ()[].

The play is simply billed as Kean in some cases.

The original text

The play is based on Fitzsimon's own biographical book Edmund Kean: Fire From Heaven (1976), the play offers a look at the life of the early 19th century actor Edmund Kean (1787-1833)[1], and explores the mystery of talent - and its (sometimes flawed) human embodiment.

First performed in August 1981 at the Harrogate Theatre, then in London with Ben Kingsley in the role of Kean. The production opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on 27 September, 1983.

No evidence of a published text has been found so far.

Interesting note:

According to the Wikipedia entry on Kean, there have been a number of plays about the actor over the years, all entitled Kean, beginning with a drama by Alexandre Dumas, père, in 1836, and followed by a comedy by Jean-Paul Sartre (1953), a Broadway musical by Peter Stone, Robert Wright, and George Forrest (1961), a BBC Play of the Month (1978) and a tragicomedy by Grigoriy Gorin, (called Kean VI, 1991). Interestingly enough, no mention is made of the Fitzsimons play Edmund Kean under discussion here, even though the 1983 TV version thereof is.

Translations and adaptations

The play was adapted for television and performed by Ben Kinsley in 1983, under the title Kean[2].

Performance history in South Africa

1985: Performed as Kean, produced by Pieter Toerien (by arrangement with Duncan C. Weldon) and directed by Rex Garner, with Michael Richard as "Kean". Designs by Jannie Swanepoel, costumes by Noreen Sterling, choreography by Jimmy Bell. It opened in the Leonard Rayne Theatre on 12 June for a run in Johannesburg, then moved to the Baxter Studio for a Cape Town run.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kean

http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsF/fitzsimons-raymund.html

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328016/

Brian Barrow and Yvonne Williams-Short (eds.). 1988. Theatre Alive! The Baxter Story 1977-1987. Cape Town: The Baxter Theatre.

Edmund Kean theatre programme, Pieter Toerien 1985.

Kerneels Breytenbach. 1985. Richard verstom as "tragediant", Die Burger, 10 Augustus, 1985.

Fiona Chisholm. 1985. Richard has an oral Rolls-Royce, Cape Times (an undated press cutting, ESAT archive).

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to South_African_Films

Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to South African Radio Plays and Serials

Return to South African Television Plays and Series

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page  

Retrieved from "https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php?title=Edmund_Kean&oldid=250787"