"The next good mood I find my father in, I'll get him quite discarded"
With these chillingly offhand words, Beatrice-Joanna, the spoilt
daughter of a powerful nobleman, plots to get rid of the family servant
who has crossed her once too often. The Changeling's vivid tale of
sexual appetite, repulsion, betrayal and lunacy remains one of the most
compelling tragedies of the 17th century. Exposing the vexed
relationship between servants and masters, setting notions of `change'
against the revelation of psychological 'secrets' as ways of explaining
human behaviour, and exploring the idea of love as a `tame madness',
the play reveals the terrifying consequences of ungoverned sexual
appetite and betrayal. Featuring the full and modernized play text, this
revised edition includes incisive commentary notes which explain the
nuances of the play's vibrant, colloquial language and demonstrate its
sly delight in the characters' conscious and unconscious wordplay.
Michael Neill's illuminating introduction provides a firm grounding in
the play's socio-political context, demonstrates how careful
close-reading can expand your enjoyment of the play, explains the play's
violent linkage of comic and tragic plots and gives theatrical life to
the text via a discussion of its stage history, with a particular
emphasis on the most interesting recent productions.
The New Mermaids plays offer:
- Modernized versions of the play text edited to the highest textual
standards
- Fully annotated student editions with obscure words explained and
critical, contextual and staging insight provided on each page
- Full Introductions analyzing context, themes, author background and
stage history
