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The Thebaid, or The Brothers at War

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

"The reign of Louis XIV. in France, like the age of Pericles at ancient Athens, was remarkable for literary excellence no less than for military achievements. Like Euripides, Racine confined himself almost exclusively to tragedy.... It was under Molière's friendly auspices that Racine's first published play, "La Thébaïde," was put upon the stage ... at the Palais Royale, Molière's own theater." The story, very much the opposite of a Moliere farce, describes the battle between the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and being a proper tragedy does not end well for anyone. (NOTE: Act 0 here is a biography of Racine from the introduction of the Translator's book. The play starts with Act 1.)
- Summary by Translator and ToddHW

Cast list:
Eteocles, King of Thebes: ToddHW
Polynices, brother of Eteocles: alanmapstone
Jocasta, mother of those two princes, and of Antigone: Sonia
Antigone, sister of Eteocles and Polynices: Lydia
Creon, their uncle: Adrian Stephens
Hemon, son of Creon, lover of Antigone: Tomas Peter
Olympia, confidential friend of Jocasta: Lisanne Lavoie
Attalus, confidential friend of Creon: Adam Bielka
A Soldier of the Army of Polynices: Nemo
Stage Directions: MichaelMaggs
Editing: ToddHW

Genre(s): Tragedy

Language: English