Teatru

by Liviu Rebreanu

«Daca romanele sunt cea mai inalta forma de relief a operei lui Liviu Rebreanu, teatrul constituie in viata lui o preocupare statornica si care i-a absorbit o buna parte a zilelor. Interesul pentru scena e adeverit astazi, in primul rand, de piesele lui: Cadrilul, Plicul, Apostolii. Ele intregesc geniul unui scriitor care a stiut in oricare din paginile sale sa treaca dincolo de pragul convenit al adevarurilor si sa deschida o perspectiva revelatoare asupra imprejurarilor care trec si a oamenilor care raman. Sunt comedii in buna traditie a literaturii noastre, sunt comedii care infrunta timpul — cum o dovedesc succesele reluarilor recente desi autorul lor le considera distractii ale spiritului, divertismente scrise intr-o luna de recreatie intre doua romane grele.» - Radu Beligan

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Liviu Rebreanu was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist.

Born in Târlişua (currently Bistriţa-Năsăud County), Transylvania, then part of Austria-Hungary, he was the second of thirteen children born to Vasile Rebreanu, a schoolteacher, and Ludovica Diuganu, descendants of peasants. His father had been a classmate of George Coşbuc's and was an amateur folklorist. Liviu Rebreanu went to primary school in Maieru (where he was taught by his father), and then in Năsăud and Bistriţa, to military school at Sopron and then to the military academy in Budapest. He worked as an officer in Gyula but resigned in 1908, and in 1909 illegally crossed the Transylvanian Alps into Romania, and lived in Bucharest.

He joined several literary circles, and worked as a journalist for Ordinea, then for Falanga literară şi artistică. At the request of the Austro-Hungarian government, he was arrested and extradited in 1910. Rebreanu was incarcerated in Gyula, being freed in August; he returned to Bucharest. In 1911-1912 he was secretary for the National Theater in Craiova, where he worked under the direction of short story writer Emil Gârleanu. He got married to actress Fanny Rădulescu.

His first published in 1912 with a volume of novellas gathered under the title Frământări ("Troublings"). During World War I Rebreanu was a reporter for Adevărul, and he continued publishing short stories: Golanii ("The Hooligans") and Mărturisire (Confession) in 1916 and Răfuială ("Resentfullness") in 1919. After the war, he became an important collaborator at the literary society Sburătorul led by the literary critic Eugen Lovinescu.

In 1920 Rebreanu published his novel Ion, the first modern Romanian novel, in which he depicted the struggles over land ownership in rural Transylvania. For Ion, Rebreanu received a Romanian Academy award - he became a full member of the institution in 1939. Between 1928 and 1930 he was chairman of the National Theatre of Bucharest, and from 1940 to 1944 he was President of the Romanian Writers' Society.

In 1944, aged 59, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Rebreanu shot himself in the mouth, in his country house in Valea Mare, Argeş County

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patru comedii marca Rebreanu, pline de umorul anilor interbelici. Personajele joviale, situații pline de tensiune, emoție, dramă, dar și pasaje comice.

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ediția de față este compusă din 4 piese: Cadrilul; Plicul; Apostolii și Jidanii, toate fiind comedii.
Deși autorul le considera distracții ale spiritului (deoarece le scrisese între 2 romane grele și importante din opera sa), eu cred că sunt foarte bine structurate, chiar autentice.

Preferatele mele au fost: Cadrilul, Plicul și Jidanul.