Young Marx

by Richard Bean, Clive Coleman

1850, and Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. Broke, restless and horny, the thirty-two-year-old revolutionary is a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit, and child-like emotional illiteracy.

Creditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there’s still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich Marx.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre

98 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2017

Reviews

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I """"read"""" this? No.
Did I enjoy seeing the play? Sure did.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

As this play is fairly accurate on both biography and theory, its farcical tone seems incongruous.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play is an absolute epic I really enjoyed this one and I think about it often. Set in 1850s London, Young Marx focuses on the life of a young Karl Marx. Far from the iconic revolutionary figure he would become, the play presents Marx as a man grappling with poverty, family pressures, and ideological battles. This portrayal humanises Marx, showing him as a flawed, passionate, and often desperate individual, and nothing like the incredibly serious and miserable (and grey and old) man people imagine him to be.

Marx is depicted as a complex character- brilliant yet reckless, charismatic yet troubled. His relationships with those around him, particularly his wife Jenny and his friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels, are central to the narrative. The play delves into the personal sacrifices and the strain on his family, highlighting the human cost of his intellectual pursuits.

One of the standout moments in the production is Marx's frequent evasion of creditors and the law. He was always borrowing money and getting arrested or hiding from the police (he wasn’t even allowed to be in England, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.)

The debates and camaraderie between Marx and Engles provide insight into their partnership and the ideological foundations of their work. Engels, portrayed as the more practical and financially stable counterpart to Marx, offers a grounding presence that contrasts with Marx's often erratic behaviour.

I think it was a great opportunity to “humanise” Marx, and to give life to a philosopher and economist known for massive, complex books and that one, dark grainy picture of him. It gave me a new perspective to think about the authors of the books I read, and think about their works and philosophy not just in the context of my life, but in theirs too.

[Meral Karamuk Ugursan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Marx is a two-act play written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman. The play based on the early life of Karl Marx, his family and his best friend Engels. The events took place in London in the 1850s. He married a woman (Jenny Von Westphalen) from Scottish aristocracy which she loves and respects him and supports all his works, writing activities. Marx has already written Communist Manifesto. He and his family are political refugees in England. They all were living in poor conditions. Marx was a penniless man and looking for work on railways as he is about the loss of his faith in socialism. But he begins to work on his new book and all community meetings again thanks to his faithful friend Engels and his wife Jenny.
Young Marx is a comedy play filled with clever jokes and swearwords. As one of the most important historical figure, we can see Marx’s personal and family life easily in both acts but also how he started to write his best-known piece of work ‘Capital’.
The writers don’t examine deeply the political life and work of two important personalities Marx and Engels but the play shows us how people who are important to society manage their business with their private lives.
A page-turner play for those interested in theatre or not.

[Rowanthereader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good play, had to read it mostly for the stage directions and keep track of characters and props so I didnt get fully invested in the story. However, it is quite a funny play with alot of play on words and language mockery and ALOT OF INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR but for an older reader they would understand more of the humor in this than 16 year old who had to read this in a weekend, nonetheless it was still good for my taste.

[Roxana Mândruţiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this play, I actually visualized Rory Kinnear as Marx, giving this reply to Willich who assured Marx that he would sleep until the end of eternity:
`I have no wish to die a pedant, but eternity has no end, that's the unique and indeed defining quality of the concept of eternity.`
The theatrical performance was sharp-witted and funny.

[Steve Mayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny in spots but too much slapstick that doesn’t work on the page (and didn’t work that well on the screen, either).

[Josh Kight · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bad play.