Democracy

by Michael Frayn

A brilliant exploration of character and conscience from the author of COPENHAGEN, set amid the tensions of 1960s Berlin

In Democracy , Michael Frayn once again creates out of the known events of twentieth-century history a drama of extraordinary urgency and subtlety, reimagining the interactions and motivations of Willy Brandt as he became chancellor of West Germany in 1966 and those of his political circle, including Günter Guillaume, a functionary who became Brandt's personal assistant-and who was eventually exposed as an East German spy in a discovery that helped force Brandt from office. But what circumstances allowed Brandt to become the first left-wing chancellor in forty years? And why, given his progressive policies, did the East German secret police feel it necessary to plant a spy in his office and risk bringing down his government?
Michael Frayn writes in his postscript to the play, "Complexity is what the play is the complexity of human arrangements and of human beings themselves, and the difficulties that this creates in both shaping and understanding our actions."

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Politics, Historical Fiction, Theatre, Espionage

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Michael Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy. His novels, such as Towards the End of the Morning, Headlong and Spies, have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. His works often raise philosophical questions in a humorous context. Frayn's wife is Claire Tomalin, the biographer and literary journalist.

Reviews

[John Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plays like this one, and Tom Stoppard's Coast of Utopia trilogy, make me wonder why Americans (of which I must count myself one) write and produce hardly any political drama. It need not be about one's own country, as Frayn demonstrates here by dramatizing events in the mid-20th-century history of Germany, and it can be inventively theatrical without requiring a huge cast or a vastly expensive production, as Frayn also demonstrates.

This play is thrilling without being a thriller and smart without being pointy-headed.

[David]

In many ways, typical Frayn, though it's tough to evoke any comedy from German politics of c. 1970-74. This is the kind of work which will seem brilliant to anyone already fascinated by the subject, but as a long-time Frayn fan I found it hard to 'enjoy.'

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set against the backdrop of 1970's German reunification politics, Democracy plays as part history lesson part investigation into the divided man. Though I think the play works on a cerebral level (the idea of a spy being aligned with both sides simultaneously and being forced to unify himself at the same time the country is trying to unify is interesting), it's character become more mouthpieces than people. Each character is barely a sketch, just enough to create a platform for an idea but not enough to invest emotionally in. Even the main character becomes somewhat of a cypher. Also, without a firm grounding in late century German politics, I found myself more often confused than riveted, putting an obvious barrier between me and the material. Not that his hasn't been surmounted before, but Frayn seems too invested in the ideas rather than the drama. An intellectually stimulating if ultimately disappointing piece.

[Kathryn Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing play by Michael Frayn! He has an incredible talent for taking intellectual, ethical and political ideas and dramatizing them into a gripping theatrical experience. I would give it 5 stars compared to most other plays and 4 stars compared to his earlier play, Copenhagen, which simply blew me away!

I saw the world premier production in London, England. June 2004.

[Ernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Frayn is an incredible playwright. I haven't had the chance to see this play on stage, but I would love to. This is definitely worth the read if you are looking for a good drama. I would also recommend reading Michael Frayn's background on the play - it is quite informative, though you don't need to be an expert on German political history in order to appreciate this excellent drama.

[Steffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a German I find it amazing that a British Author is interested in this matter. The affair - and even more the protagonists - are described with great empathy and sympathy for both sides. And - like Frayn describes correctly - the power struggle among the Social Democrats was also decisive für Willy Brandts resignation.

[Corie Holland · Rating 2 out of 5]

The postscript was more intriguing than most of the play. Some historical background as a forward would've helped for those who do not fully remember a divided Berlin, or as a refresher for those who do.

[Martin Denton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Democracy is a play by Michael Frayn, who had previously written the exquisite Copenhagen. But Democracy is, sadly, a terrible bore; a play that threatened to put me to sleep more than once during its 2-3/4 hour running time. It presents potentially intriguing material in an alienating and abstract format. The central figures of the play are Willy Brandt, the Social Democratic Chancellor of West Germany from 1969-1974, and Gunter Guillaume, Brandt's personal assistant, who was revealed to be an East German spy in a scandal that brought down the administration. Brandt is depicted by Frayn as something of an enigma--an enormously skillful politico, hugely popular with the masses, successful at least in part because colleagues and strangers alike are able to project whatever they wish onto his disarming and often silent persona. Guillaume is portrayed as a dedicated Communist ideologue who finds his faith shaken as he learns more and more disturbing facts about the country he's supposed to be serving and becomes more and more enamored of the man he's supposed to betray. There's a fascinating story to tell here, but Frayn resists telling it; instead, he pads this central relationship with lots of behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the party leaders who helped Brandt achieve power, which grows tedious very quickly because (a) we know from the get-go that eventually they are going to find Guillaume out, and (b) we know from even a scant recollection of recent German history that Helmut Schmidt is going to be named Chancellor before the evening is over. Without any sort of suspense, the play's success hinges on deep insights into character--but these are few and far between, because Frayn insists of sticking to the historical record fairly relentlessly. Fictionalized versions of Brandt and Guillaume might have behaved in more dramatically interesting ways than their real-life counterparts actually did. But Frayn's Brandt engages in just the meagerest of cat-and-mouse with Guillaume, while Frayn's Guillaume never feels dangerous at all.

Copenhagen used real-life relationships and events to provide insights into history and science; I remember leaving the theater invigorated by dazzling possibilities. But I found myself dismayingly unable to pull anything out of Democracy.

[Cormac · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the stage, this play might be a bit wordy, but it reads like a first-rate novel. Sheer pleasure.

[Timo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,42

[alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. was good

[Gramarye · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Japanese is not what it once was (and even then, it wasn't much), but I do find this translation of one of my all-time favourite plays to be very well done. The nuances of the Japanese language -- levels of politeness, personal pronoun choices, and the like -- really help reveal what the characters think of each other, and add to the complexity of the play. I doubt I'll ever be able to see this performed live in Japanese (and almost certainly not with the inimitable Takeshi Kaga portraying Willy Brandt), but I'm glad to own a copy of the play in Japanese regardless.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really fascinating play about an era I knew very little about. And what happens when a leader is loved and adored by the people and thought to be almost god-like and then turns out to be human?

This being said though, this is a very intellectually stimulating play, but it isn't a one that connects with your emotions as much as one would hope. However this might be different with the right actors and director involved

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. 20.05.14-25.11.14

I read most of this from september and until now, but I've had so much to do (and so many other books to read) that it's taken quite long to finish!

I actually liked it a lot, once I could read it for pleasure and not for the class it was for. I really enjoyed Frayn's 'Copenhagen' as well when we read that for class, and this did not disappoint! I enjoy his way of using real historical situations and give us a look at what might have been going on behind the scenes.

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably just me, but I find political dramas boring. In this case, the personalities of the characters just didn't strike me as all that interesting. Lots of internal conflict (Brandt didn't seem convinced that he wanted to be Chancellor, and Guillaume seemed almost as devoted to Brandt as he was to East Germany.) Trouble was, I just didn't care.

[Francis Bass · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great balance of political horse-trading and genuine depth of character, between larger-than-life figures and small, quiet moments. Probably best to have some familiarity with the period before reading it

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, yeah, it's brilliant, but it did tell me a lot more about German politics in the 1970s than I really wanted to know.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truthfully, I haven't actually read this, only seen it performed... but it was AMAZING!

[Steven Yenzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another terrific historical fiction play from Michael Frayn. Would love to see this.

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why are they talking like that? Make it stop.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting...