''Bacchus'' is a 1951 play written by French dramatist
Jean Cocteau. His last full-length play, it is set in a small German town in 1523, which is holding a Bacchic carnival. As part of the festivities, the village idiot is declared king for a week, and he suddenly becomes rational "and preaches an anarchic message of love and freedom, which results in his being sentenced to burn at the stake."
It was opened in
Théâtre Marigny in December 1951. A few days later
François Mauriac attacked the play in ''Le Figaro littéraire'' accusing Cocteau of committing heresy.
[James S. Williams: ''Jean Cocteau.'' Reaktion books, 2008. ]
It was translated into English by Mary Hoeck as ''Bacchus''. The translation has been published in ''The Infernal Machine and Other Plays'' (1963). In 1952 the work was translated into German by Charles Regnier and Gerd von Rhein; the first German performance has been in the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus in
Düsseldorf on 18 October 1952, directed by
Gustaf Gruendgens
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
, attended by the author and with
Martin Benrath as Bacchus.
References
Plays by Jean Cocteau
{{1950s-play-stub