Ein Fest für Boris

by Thomas Bernhard

Das erste Theaterstück von Thomas Bernhard zeigt eine geschlossene Gesellschaft. Es ist eine Krankengeschichte: die Geschichte der »Guten«, die, beinlos in ihrem Rollstuhl, die Wirklichkeit nach ihren Vorstellungen imaginiert, und die im 3.Akt ein makabres Geburtstagsfest für ihren beinlosen Ehemann Boris und dessen dreizehn Leidensgenossen veranstaltet. Das Stück präsentiert eine radikal reduzierte Wirklichkeit: den räumlichen Beschränkungen, körperlichen Verstümmelungen und sprachlichen Verkürzungen entspricht die Verkümmerung der menschlichen Beziehungen.

Genres: Plays, German Literature

107 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 1970

About the author

Thomas Bernhard was an Austrian writer who ranks among the most distinguished German-speaking writers of the second half of the 20th century.

Although internationally he’s most acclaimed because of his novels, he was also a prolific playwright. His characters are often at work on a lifetime and never-ending major project while they deal with themes such as suicide, madness and obsession, and, as Bernhard did, a love-hate relationship with Austria. His prose is tumultuous but sober at the same time, philosophic by turns, with a musical cadence and plenty of black humor.

He started publishing in the year 1963 with the novel Frost. His last published work, appearing in the year 1986, was Extinction. Some of his best-known works include The Loser (about a student’s fictionalized relationship with the pianist Glenn Gould), Wittgenstein’s Nephew, and Woodcutters.

Reviews

[Mehrshad Zarei · Rating 2 out of 5]

نام مترجم را روی کتاب دیدم و بی‌اختیار شروع کردم به خواندن اما نشد آن چه که باید می‌شد.
موضوع جالب و پرداخت نسبتاً خوبی داشت اما کافی نبود.
نمایشنامه‌ها و کتاب‌های بهتری می‌توان درباب مرگ خواند.

[Gilfschnitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is about people without legs. But what does it mean? Is it about the duality of being a horrible person while acting as a philanthropist? What do the legs indicate? The protagonist has no legs and exists in a toxic cycle of self-created isolation. She mocks the people closest to her and tries to put them down. The other legless people in the asylum believe her to be a good person, because she does seem to care about them, trying to ease their pain. The one person with legs attached is not controlled/enchanted by the protagonist while paradoxically being their servant and also does seem to maintain some true compassion. Do the legless people in the asylum serve a purpose apart from having to be pitied? They do seem more complex than that but it is difficult to pin down...

I really like the first act effectively painting this picture of the old, bitter lady who robs you of your sympathy for her with every word she utters. Apart from that this piece really belongs on a stage. Very nice, Mr Bernhard, I'll come back for more!

[Payam Ebrahimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

نتونستم باهاش ارتباط برقرار کنم
هیچ مساله‌ی اساسی و مهم، پیچیدگی یا کنش داستانی جذابی نداشت که بخواد من رو جذب کنه.

[Tauan Tinti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernhard brincando de Beckett.

[Mohanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی مورد علاقه‌ی من نبود.
۲.۷۵

[Elahe · Rating 4 out of 5]

نمایش ابسورد و تا حد قابل توجهی شقاوت؛ باید روی صحنه دیدش.
از زبان فشرده‌ش خیلی خوشم اومد، از نمادهایی که حول معلولیت ایجاد میشه هم. خیلی میتونم راجع به این نمایش بنویسم حیف که تنبلی..

[Noam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absurd play which ends with a birthday party for Boris. The party is organized by his wife, called ‘The good’. Both of them are missing their legs. While ‘The good’ is a rich woman, Boris lived till his marriage in a home for the disabled. All 13 guests are his friends of that period. All of them are missing their legs.

‘The good’ isn’t good at all: She’s very nasty towards Johanna, the maid, as well as to Boris, her husband, and their guests. The guests are trying to make the best of it, but that’s impossible: Their world is their life in that home for the disabled: sleeping in boxes even too small for people without legs, being bullied by the personnel, dreaming about the end of their lives. One thing is sure: This birthday party cannot have a happy end…

The play is about power: The power we grab on other people lives or how we undergo the power of others. Just place a group of people in one room and the power game begins, leading to a hierarchy within no time. Being addicted to power, it’s the only thing which brings us joy. Everything else is unimportant. And whenever everyone is miserable, being miserable becomes normal!

At first sight one tends to think: ‘Oh, well, these are just a bunch of strange people without legs! We are not like them!’, but is this true?

[شایان عمان · Rating 4 out of 5]

ضیافتی برای مرگ.
جشنی برای بوریس نمایشنامه دلچسبی‌است و
مخاطب را همراه می کند تا مقصود نویسنده را
به بیننده ارائه کند.
نکته ضعف ماجرا به شِکوِه شباهت یافتن برخی
دیالوگ های شخصیت هاست که با توجه به محوریت نمایشنامه
می توان با آن کنار آمد.
خوانشش پیشنهاد می شود.