''Rock 'n' Roll'' is a play by British playwright
Tom Stoppard that premiered at the
Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.
Plot summary
The play is concerned with the significance of
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
in the emergence of the socialist movement in
Eastern-Bloc Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
between the
Prague Spring of 1968 and the
Velvet Revolution of 1989. Taking place in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England and in Prague, the play contrasts the attitudes of a young Czech PhD student and rock music fan, who becomes appalled by the repressive regime in his home country, with those of his British
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
professor, who unrepentantly continues to believe in the
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
ideal.
The play takes place over several decades, from the late 1960s until 1990, ending with a concert given by
the Rolling Stones that year in Prague. Recurrent references are made to a glimpse by one of the main characters of the young
Syd Barrett performing ''Golden Hair''. Barrett's physical and mental decline also plays a role in the drama (Barrett in fact died during the play's run). The underground Czech group
the Plastic People of the Universe are held up by another character as an ideal of resistance to Communism. The poetry of
Sappho is another recurrent motif; its pagan sensualism is implicitly compared with the anarchic erotic force of rock music.
One of the characters, a Czech writer, is named Ferdinand as an homage to
Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...
. Havel wrote three plays with a protagonist named
Ferdinand Vaněk, a stand-in for Havel himself. These plays were distributed by
samizdat and became a symbol of the resistance. A number of Havel's friends then wrote their own
Vaněk plays, with Ferdinand Vaněk as a character. Stoppard continues in that tradition.
This play is one of several works in Stoppard's ''oeuvre'' concerned with artistic dissent against the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...
: ''
Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth'' also addresses this, as do ''
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'' and ''
Professional Foul''.
Original production
The original production was staged at the
Royal Court Theatre and ran from 3 June until 15 July 2006. It then transferred to the
Duke of York's Theatre. The production was directed by
Trevor Nunn and featured the following cast:
* Jan –
Rufus Sewell
Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor. In film, he has appeared in ''Carrington (film), Carrington'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1 ...
* Max –
Brian Cox
* Eleanor, Esme –
Sinéad Cusack
* Interrogator, Nigel –
Anthony Calf
* Ferdinand –
Peter Sullivan
* Young Esme, Alice –
Alice Eve
* Gillian, Magda, Deirdre – Miranda Colchester
* Piper, Police Officer 1, Stephen –
Edward Hogg
* Milan, Police Officer 2, Jaroslav – Martin Chamberlain
* Lenka – Nicole Ansari
* Candida – Louise Bangay
Taking over from the principal actors mid-run were:
* Jan –
Dominic West
* Max –
David Calder
* Eleanor, Esme –
Emma Fielding
* Young Esme/ Alice –
Fiona Button
The production closed on 25 February 2007 at the
Duke of York's Theatre before an announced transfer to Broadway in the autumn of 2007.
The premiere of the play was attended by first president of the post-Communist
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and leading figure of the
Velvet Revolution,
Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...
(a friend of Stoppard's) and
rock star
Mick Jagger, whose band,
The Rolling Stones, features in the final scene of the play. Jagger has worked with Stoppard previously, having produced the film ''
Enigma'', for which Stoppard wrote the screenplay, and has, along with his production company Jagged Films, "approached" Stoppard "for the movie rights" to the play ''Rock 'n' Roll''.
["Jagger Set to Team Up with Stoppard"]
, ''contactmusic.com'', accessed 28 April 2007. Also in attendance was
Paul Wilson, the Canadian former lead singer of the
Plastic People of the Universe, with whom Stoppard consulted while writing the play.
Prague production
The play premiered in Prague's historic
National Theatre (Národní Divadlo) in February 2007. It features opening and closing performances by
The Plastic People of the Universe.
Broadway production
A Broadway (New York City) run of the play commenced in previews on 19 October 2007 and opened on 4 November 2007 at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Several of the original cast members – including
Sewell,
Cox and
Cusack – appeared in the production that is directed by
Trevor Nunn. The production had a strictly limited run and closed on 9 March 2008.
Other productions
The San Francisco production, directed by
Carey Perloff, opened at the
American Conservatory Theater on 17 September 2008. It then moved to
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
's
Huntington Theatre Company, who co-produced the production, on 7 November.
The first UK production of the play outside London was at the
Library Theatre in Manchester from 13 February to 14 March 2009.
Teatre Lliure of Barcelona presented ''Rock 'n' Roll'', in Catalan and directed by Àlex Rigola, as the opening show for the 2008–2009 season between 18 September and 19 October.
Joy Zinoman, Founding Artistic Director of The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, will direct the play beginning 22 April 2009.
The Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas produced ''Rock 'n' Roll'' beginning 24 April 2009, directed by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd.
Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...
of Chicago hosted a production from 2 May through 7 June 2009.
The Canadian premiere was at
Dawson College in Montréal Quebec in January 2009 directed by Douglas Buchanan.
The
Canadian Stage Company of Toronto, Ontario featured ''Rock 'n' Roll'' in their 2009–2010 season between 28 September and 24 October.
ACT Theatre in Seattle produced the play as part of their 2009 Season between 9 October and 8 November 2009.
Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota produced ''Rock 'n' Roll'' beginning 15 January 2010, directed by Mary M. Finnerty.
A production was staged at
The Questors Theatre in Ealing, West London, from 19 December 2009 to 2 January 2010.
The San Jose Stage Company presented a new production of ''Rock 'n' Roll'' from 10 February to 7 March 2010.
Horipro presented the first Japan production of the play at the Setagaya public theatre in
Setagaya, Tokyo, from 3 to 29 August 2010.
Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina will produce ''Rock 'n' Roll'', directed by Simon Donoghue, beginning 24 February 2011.
St. Louis Actors' Studio (stlas.org) Produced ''Rock 'n' Roll'' in November 2010
National Theater of Kosovowill also produce ''Rock 'n' Roll'' beginning January 2011.
Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Oyuncuları (YUO) started rehearsals in November 2010 for a Turkish production.
The Kavinoky Theatre in Buffalo, New York produced "Rock 'N' Roll" in 2011 from 4 March to 3 April
The Sydney Theatre, Sydney, production by the Melbourne Theatre Company from 11 April 2008 to 17 May 2008
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
's production opened 22 September 2011 in
RAMT (Russian Academic Youth Theatre)
The Guildford Acting School produced Rock 'N' Roll in 2023 from 25 to 27 May which featured MA & MFA Acting students in collaboration with BA Theatre Production and MA Stage & Production Management students https://www.gsauk.org/events/39601AJRRLKSVBMNJSKBSJSPPVNLVSKDK/book
Hampstead Theatre produced Rock 'N' Roll in 2023 from 6 December 2023 to 27 January 2024.
Nina Raine directed. The cast included
Nancy Carroll,
Nathaniel Parker
Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and List of Merlin characters#Agravaine de Bois, Agravaine de Bois in the ...
, and
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd.
References
Bibliography
* Eno, Brian, and Mark Edwards
"Czechs and Thugs and Rock’n’Roll" ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' 11 June 2006. Accessed 28 April 2007.
Tom Stoppard's new play centres on the pop band whose arrest launched a human-rights movement. He discusses how artists change the world."*
Lawson, MarkRadio interview with Tom Stoppard ''
Front Row'',
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
, 29 May 2006,
RealAudio (30 mins.). Accessed 28 April 2007. (Listed o
Arts and Drama: Front Row BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
. Accessed 28 April 2007.)
* Mastalir, Linda
"Tom Stoppard's ''Rock 'n' Roll'' ''
Radio Prague'', Current Affairs. Transcript and audio file of a report on the play broadcast on
Radio Prague on 28 June 2006. Accessed 28 April 2007.
External links
*
{{Tom Stoppard
Plays by Tom Stoppard
2006 plays
University of Cambridge in fiction