Howard Barker: Collected Plays, Vol. 1 (Claw, No End of Blame, Victory, the Castle, Scenes from an Execution)

From Claw (1975), a savage and comic journey among the English
poor and the English powerful, to The Castle (1985), whose tragic
explorations of pain, absence, and sexuality, mark it out as one of the
most significant plays of its decade, Howard Barker both re-works and
re-defines the qualities which characterize his most individual voice - the
power of language both raw and poetic, the insistence on the imaginative as
against the naturalistic world, and the refusal of simple, dialectical
solutions to the dilemmas of private and social life. His meditations in a
play like Victory (1983) refuse easy categorization whilst affirming the
triumph of the human spirit in times of chaos, whilst his observations of
the horrors and ecstasies of the artistic life in No End of Blame (1981)
and the award winning Scenes from an Execution (1984) reveal a profound
engagement with the moral responsibilities of the artist in society.
In more detail:

'Claw' is a savage and comic portrayal of life among the post-war poor:
it shows realistically the British way of life after 1945; brutish,
deprived but in many ways colourful with its class-hatreds, sexual freedoms
and Political conflicts.

'No End of Blame': This play is based on the life of Vicky Weiss, the
brilliant cartoonist whose work appeared in many British newspapers,
especially the Evening Standard and The New Statesman. In the play, which
starts during the white terror in Hungary that followed the first World War
and the Russian Revolution, a young artist barely escapes the slaughter and
ends up in Britain.

'Victory': Set against the backdrop of restoration Britain
characterises the revanchist return of Charles II and the Cavaliers. The
returning Cavaliers persecute the remaining Roundheads, even to the point
of exhuming the decomposed parts of the dead. Bradshaw, widow of a late
Cromwellian minister, sets out to find and reunite the parts of her
husband's body. A powerful play with a political edge that has proved one
of the author's most successful.

'Scenes from an Execution' explores the relationship between artist and
his or her responsibility to the state is explored. It was originally
written for radio and won the prestigious Italia prize in an all-Europe
competition. Set in Venice after the battle of Lepanto, it dramatises the
dilemma of an artist who against the direction of the Doge wishes to paint
the brutal truth of war not to falsify the legacy of war which leads to her
falling out of favour. An exploration into the moral responsibility of the
artist.

'The Castle': Set in medieval Spain, The castle shows the lengths to
which the returning Crusaders will go to subjugate the women who have
created a feminist commune in their absence. A tragic exploration of pain,
absence and sexuality.

Howard Barker has emerged in the last decade as a dramatist of international stature. His theory and practice of theatre have made him a controversial figure, whilst his work has undergone constant change and development. This collected edition covers a range of his theatre from 1975 to the mid-1980's, and includes plays premiered both in anti-establishment theatres such as Charles Marowitz's Open Space and in national institutions like the Royal Shakespeare Company.

From Claw (1975), a savage and comic journey among the English poor and the English powerful, to The Castle (1985), whose tragic explorations of pain, absence, and sexuality, mark it out as one of the most significant plays of its decade, Howard Barker both re-works and re-defines the qualities which characterize his most individual voice - the power of language both raw and poetic, the insistence on the imaginative as against the naturalistic world, and the refusal of simple, dialectical solutions to the dilemmas of private and social life. His meditations in a play like Victory (1983) refuse easy categorization whilst affirming the triumph of the human spirit in times of chaos, whilst his observations of the horrors and ecstasies of the artistic life in No End of Blame (1981) and the award winning Scenes from an Execution (1984) reveal a profound engagement with the moral responsibilities of the artist in society.

All the plays in this volume have been performed in Europe, America and Australia. They have also variously been broadcast, filmed and televised.