Wenceslas Square

by Larry Shue

Drawn from the author's own experience, the play tells of the return to Czechoslovakia, in 1974, of a former college drama professor, Vince Corey, who is researching a book (begun during a visit five years earlier) on the explosion of artistic creativity that flowered under the now overthrown, liberal Dubcek government. Accompanied by a young student, Dooley, the professor is shocked to find that the free speech and artistic freedom that he encountered on his earlier visit have been crushed by the Soviet masters who have taken over the country. In a series of vivid, yet often brightly funny scenes, Vince and Dooley look up a succession of Vince's former friends and contacts, including his translator and her husband; a great actor now reduced to doing propaganda films; a shamed but nervously helpful government functionary; and a brilliant writer whose resistance to authority has led to his virtual banishment from society all, in the New York production, played by the same actor and actress. While humor abounds as the two move from one sharply etched encounter to another, the play also offers a thoughtful and moving comment on the nature of oppression, artistic and otherwise, as the two Americans begin to comprehend the fear and suspicion that their friends must now contend with, and the dreadful grayness that descendeds on their once promising lives when the famous "Prague Spring" gave way to "Prague Winter."

Genres: Plays, Theatre

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[AR · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

The ending felt a little abrupt to me, but I’d definitely be interested in seeing this on the stage sometime.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a real departure from the outrageous comedies of Larry Shue ... The Nerd and The Foreigner.

While still peppered with humor (some language confusion reminded me of early Ionesco), this play has a dark and depressing over-tone.

The minimal cast mirrors the Czech theatre scene that Vince is longing to see again, yet is feels very dated as I read through it now. I don't see it going over well in the community theatre scene, as the two comedies certainly do.

An interesting play, and I'm glad I just (re)read it, but I am not surprised that it hasn't had much life.

[John Nondorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an uproarious comedy like The Nerd or The Foreigner though there are some very funny moments. This play is about artists in Czechoslovakia in the years of Soviet rule after the Prague Spring. Brief but insightful and well written.

[Chambers Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the world premiere of this play in Wisconsin.
Very interesting but I think I like the Foreigner better.