Testőr

Testőr is a play by Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár [1] (1878-1952).

The original text

Translations and adaptations

Translated into English as The Guardsman, a comedy in three acts by Grace L. Colbron and Hans Bartsch. Acting version by Philip Moeller, as performed by The Theatre Guild on Broadway in 1924, Published, with a foreword by Theresa Herburn, in New York by Liveright, 1937.

Other translations have been done by Frank Marcus (1978), Richard Nelson, and Bonnie J. Monte.

In the latter translation, undertaken with the help of Molnar's great grandson, the translator/director sought to rectify the farcical approach usually given the play. She also restored the play to its original setting of Budapest. In her production with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey of 2015, Monte sought to highlight the work's tragic undertones, stating translator-director Monte has helpfully commented, "Whether The Guardsman is more an agonized comedy or a very funny tragedy is up to each viewer"[2].

Translated from the Hungarian into English as The Guardsman, a comedy in three acts, and supplied with an introduction by Frank Marcus. Published in London :by Eyre Methuen, 1978.

Adapted to film starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in 1931.