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Zastrozzi: The Master of Discipline
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 13, 2017
33. Zastrozzi: the master of discipline: a melodrama by John F. Walker
This was so horrid that I can’t believe that Walker could evolve into the playwright that he later became. Six characters and only one survives. Heck, if I want that I can read Hamlet and get a half decent plot as well. It is said to be loosely based on the poem by Shelley. The only interesting part to me would be the stage set and perhaps the swordplay. The two women in the play – whore and virgin – are flat on the page and never seem to have any real motivation. The play is set in 1893 but it seems medieval in its violence and lack of technology. Revenge has never been my thing; I’m so careless that I can’t hold on to a grudge. Just plain nasty.
This was so horrid that I can’t believe that Walker could evolve into the playwright that he later became. Six characters and only one survives. Heck, if I want that I can read Hamlet and get a half decent plot as well. It is said to be loosely based on the poem by Shelley. The only interesting part to me would be the stage set and perhaps the swordplay. The two women in the play – whore and virgin – are flat on the page and never seem to have any real motivation. The play is set in 1893 but it seems medieval in its violence and lack of technology. Revenge has never been my thing; I’m so careless that I can’t hold on to a grudge. Just plain nasty.
January 30, 2019
I don’t read plays often but this one game highly recommended and I really enjoyed it. The setting, the sarcasm, the characters and the story were interesting and engaging. I might read more plays now. :)
October 14, 2023
komedi oyunu olarak okursak oldukça başarılı
June 15, 2018
Zastrozzi: The Master of Discipline by George F. Walker was first performed in 1977 in Toronto. The tragicomedy is loosely based on Percy Bysshe Shelley's 1810 Gothic horror novel Zastrozzi, A Romance.
The theme of the play is revenge. Zastrozzi, a criminal, seeks to avenge the murder of his mother by Verezzi, a quixotic and eccentric artist. He has pursued his prey for three years and has at last located him. Verezzi is protected by a tutor, Victor, who made a promise to Verezzi's father that he would safeguard him. Zastrozzi's henchman Bernardo is tasked to murder Victor. Zastrozzi saves Verezzi for himself.
Zastrozzi, however, is not content to kill Verezzi. There are worse things than death. Zastrozzi seeks to force Verezzi to commit suicide. Verezzi is devoutly religious while Zastrozzi is a strident atheist. By killing himself, Verezzi would achieve eternal damnation based on the Christian religious precepts he upholds. This would be a supreme form of revenge. Zastrozzi wants to torture and punish Verezzi. Death would be too easy.
To manipulate Verezzi to commit suicide, Zastrozzi employs Matilda to seduce him. "Entrap him. Then destroy him." Verezzi, meanwhile, has met Julia. He proposes marriage to her. She declines. Matilda is to be the third person in this triangle. This is the plot of the play.
Verezzi has assumed a messianic mission, advocating love and human kindness. He is awaiting his 454 followers, which include swans and caterpillars. He is oblivious to the threat that Zastrozzi poses, regarding him as a "phantom" who does not exist.
Walker retains the major characters and key themes of the Shelley novel. He changes the setting to 1893 Italy and adds the new character Victor. The themes are good versus evil, atheism and religiosity, obsession and pursuit, revenge and murder, and man overreaching the boundaries of morality to become a new Prometheus, a Miltonian Satan. Zastrozzi, Bernardo, Matilda, and Victor are also adept at sword play which is a key element of the action. The sets are a combination of a "Piranesi prison drawing" and the ruins of an ancient city.
Another theme is the nature of art. Who should be the judge of its merit or worth? Zastrozzi has an artist killed because of his alleged mediocrity. "To prove that even artists must answer to somebody."
Zastrozzi attacks the Belle Epoque or the Beautiful Age in European history. "What is this new age of optimism they're all talking about." He says it is a "lie" to give people "false hope". Zastrozzi explains his symbolic mission: "I am what I am. The force of darkness. The sane, clear voice of negative spirituality." He seeks to destroy mankind and the world because they are "weak" and "ugly".
Victor tells him that a new century is approaching that will usher in a new world that is better, more humane and civilized. Zastrozzi replies that the new era will not be better. Understanding this fundamental truth is better: "Understanding the truth is understanding that the force of darkness is constant."
Zastrozzi describes his objective: "It is my responsibility to spread out like a disease and purge. And by destroying everything make everything safe. Alive. Untouched by expectation. Free of history. Free of religion. Free of everything."
Zastrozzi: Master of Discipline is one of Walker's most successful and most performed plays. The play was performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in 2009. Since its debut in 1977, the drama is in continuous production in theaters around the world. The work is powerful and provocative. The themes are timeless. This is a play not to be missed.
The theme of the play is revenge. Zastrozzi, a criminal, seeks to avenge the murder of his mother by Verezzi, a quixotic and eccentric artist. He has pursued his prey for three years and has at last located him. Verezzi is protected by a tutor, Victor, who made a promise to Verezzi's father that he would safeguard him. Zastrozzi's henchman Bernardo is tasked to murder Victor. Zastrozzi saves Verezzi for himself.
Zastrozzi, however, is not content to kill Verezzi. There are worse things than death. Zastrozzi seeks to force Verezzi to commit suicide. Verezzi is devoutly religious while Zastrozzi is a strident atheist. By killing himself, Verezzi would achieve eternal damnation based on the Christian religious precepts he upholds. This would be a supreme form of revenge. Zastrozzi wants to torture and punish Verezzi. Death would be too easy.
To manipulate Verezzi to commit suicide, Zastrozzi employs Matilda to seduce him. "Entrap him. Then destroy him." Verezzi, meanwhile, has met Julia. He proposes marriage to her. She declines. Matilda is to be the third person in this triangle. This is the plot of the play.
Verezzi has assumed a messianic mission, advocating love and human kindness. He is awaiting his 454 followers, which include swans and caterpillars. He is oblivious to the threat that Zastrozzi poses, regarding him as a "phantom" who does not exist.
Walker retains the major characters and key themes of the Shelley novel. He changes the setting to 1893 Italy and adds the new character Victor. The themes are good versus evil, atheism and religiosity, obsession and pursuit, revenge and murder, and man overreaching the boundaries of morality to become a new Prometheus, a Miltonian Satan. Zastrozzi, Bernardo, Matilda, and Victor are also adept at sword play which is a key element of the action. The sets are a combination of a "Piranesi prison drawing" and the ruins of an ancient city.
Another theme is the nature of art. Who should be the judge of its merit or worth? Zastrozzi has an artist killed because of his alleged mediocrity. "To prove that even artists must answer to somebody."
Zastrozzi attacks the Belle Epoque or the Beautiful Age in European history. "What is this new age of optimism they're all talking about." He says it is a "lie" to give people "false hope". Zastrozzi explains his symbolic mission: "I am what I am. The force of darkness. The sane, clear voice of negative spirituality." He seeks to destroy mankind and the world because they are "weak" and "ugly".
Victor tells him that a new century is approaching that will usher in a new world that is better, more humane and civilized. Zastrozzi replies that the new era will not be better. Understanding this fundamental truth is better: "Understanding the truth is understanding that the force of darkness is constant."
Zastrozzi describes his objective: "It is my responsibility to spread out like a disease and purge. And by destroying everything make everything safe. Alive. Untouched by expectation. Free of history. Free of religion. Free of everything."
Zastrozzi: Master of Discipline is one of Walker's most successful and most performed plays. The play was performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in 2009. Since its debut in 1977, the drama is in continuous production in theaters around the world. The work is powerful and provocative. The themes are timeless. This is a play not to be missed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews