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Esther

Jean Racine (1639 - 1699)
Translated by Robert Bruce Boswell (1864 - 1933)

Esther — the first of Racine's two sacred dramas — is a tragedy in the Aristotelian acceptation of the term, as being concerned with a great and noble action, and calculated to excite generous pity and fear, though the denouement is a happy one for the heroine and her compatriots. It was composed by Racine when he was in his fiftieth year, and acted at the Maison de Saint Cyr in 1689. The incidents are in strict accordance with the Biblical narrative.

In " Esther " Racine for the first time introduces a Chorus, as in the ancient Greek drama, whose songs set to music by Moreau gratefully relieved the monotony of the somewhat stilted dialogue. The unity of place is, moreover, observed less rigidly than usual, a change of scene (though still within the limits of the royal palace) accompanying the rise of the curtain for each of the three Acts.

(Summary by the translator)

Cast List

Prologue(Piety): Alan Mapstone
Esther(Queen of Persia): ShrimpPhish
Ahasuerus(King of Persia): Algy Pug
Mordecai: Alan Mapstone
Haman: Papa Phish
Zeresh: Inkell
Hydaspes: Greg Giordano
Asaph: Beeswaxcandle
Elizabeth: Sonali Ekka
A Jewish Maiden: Agnes Robert Behr
Another Maiden: Inkell
Another Maiden: Jessie Percival
Youngest Maiden: Rapunzelina
Stage Directions: Larry Wilson

Genre(s): Tragedy

Language: English

Keyword(s): drama (196), sacred drama (1)