Reconsidering National Plays in Europe

This volume frames the concept of a national play. By analysing a number of European case studies, it addresses the following question: Which play could be regarded as a country's national play, and how does it represent its national identity? The chapters provide an in-depth look at plays in eight different countries: Germany ( Die Räuber,  Friedrich Schiller), Switzerland ( Wilhelm Tell , Friedrich Schiller), Hungary ( Bánk Bán , József Katona), Sweden ( Gustav Vasa , August Strindberg), Norway ( Peer Gynt,  Henrik Ibsen), the Netherlands ( The Good Hope , Herman Heijermans), France ( Tartuffe , Molière), and Ireland. This collection is especially relevant at a time of socio-political flux, when national identity and the future of the nation state is being reconsidered.