''King Gordogan'' ( hr, Kralj Gordogan) is a surrealist play written by the Croatian poet
Radovan Ivšić
Radovan Ivšić (June 22, 1921 – December 25, 2009) was a Croatian writer, best known for his drama '' Kralj Gordogan'' and book of poems Crno. Ivšić spent his life uncompromisingly in the spirit of liberty. Such values brought him close to t ...
in 1943.
This bleak
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
is about a man who usurps a throne to become king, and then jails the daughter of his murdered predecessor while planning to kill her. The new king's son falls in love with the jailed woman, while various people resist or assist the king's various oppressive actions.
This play was written in the shadow of
World War II, and featured a king who was a bloodthirsty tyrant. This work was suppressed by the Nazi occupiers of Croatia, and continued to be suppressed by the communist government of Yugoslavia led by
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
.
[Graham, Jon.]
"Theater as Plague: Radovan Ivšić and the Theater of the Weird"
''Weird Fiction Review'' (June 11, 2014).
References
1943 plays
Croatian plays
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