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Review
Stupendous...A savage indictment of a hard, soulless world of mechanisation and money worship. --Independent
This is a play written in anger. In the dead wasteland of male society - it seems to ask - isn't it necessary for certain women, at least, to resort to murder? --Nicholas Wright
This is a play written in anger. In the dead wasteland of male society - it seems to ask - isn't it necessary for certain women, at least, to resort to murder? --Nicholas Wright
Product Description
Published alongside Steven Daldry's monumental National Theatre production starring Fiona Shaw. Machinal was the winner of four Olivier Awards. Sophie Treadwell's play is an immensely powerful expressionist drama from the 1920s about the dependent status of women in an increasingly mechanised society, based on the true story of Ruth Snyder who was executed in 1928 for the murder of her husband.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This play made me cry on my daily commute - read it and you will understand why. Steeped in the literary tradition of the American dream, Treadwell tells the tale of a young woman who cannot reconcile herself to the increasingly dehumanised world in which she finds herself, and her inevitable progression to her devestating end. The sense of daily grind, underlying panic, the desire for escape and for something beyond the hell of everyday life have lost none of their resonance today. The intensely sympathetic character will move anyone who has ever loved or wanted, whilst Treadwell's control over her form and her weighty social commentary can be appreciated in themselves. Treadwell's New York has much in common with early O'Neill, and her disillusion with society echoes Fitzgerald's but in terms of sympathy for the human condition, she is unrivalled.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book is a good read with loads of interesting twist's
it reached me in good timeing and is well priced.
it reached me in good timeing and is well priced.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Great show of American expressionism!
6 Feb 2003
Format:Paperback
Having taught this play a number of times at the college level, I find it one of the most accessable examples of expressionism available in print. It's great to read while watching a film like Metropolis (Fritz Lang's expressionist masterpiece). In reference to an earlier review, the play may seem simple and mundane, but when read in its historical context (and when seen in a brave production) it's what theatre is all about... engaging, moving, and socially/politically active. The fact that it's by a woman and about a woman, in a period dominated by the male perspective, simply makes it more fascinating.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Machinal is truly moving
14 May 2000
Format:Paperback
Being a student who has performed, and read, this play I strongly suggest it to others. This play is more than a simple examination of the feminist mindset in modern day society, but further a question of not only capital punishment, but also the logic and reasoning behind the motive to take a person's life. The expressionistic stlye of this piece makes it a unique work of literature and also provides a forum for open discussion on the issues of womens rights and multiple other issues. In deed this masterfully written piece is worth the time of any person who enjoys a work that is not only unique but compelling in its telling of the tale of a machine like society. I hope everyone reads this play and thinks about not only their role in society, but within their relationships as well.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A Feminist Play Ahead of its Time.
30 Dec 2005
Format:Paperback
Having worked in the theatre, though I think more than that, being a fan of theatre and a student of literature, my take on reading plays is kind of odd. I usually dislike it. I have always felt that plays are meant to be seen and experienced. More to the point, the beauty of plays is the marriage of the playwright's vision with that of the director's and then watching this new product -- hey, let's go with the metaphor - this "baby" come into its own through the actors. Of course, when I do read a good play, I get to direct in my head and it's a totally different, yet enjoyable, experience in and of itself. I think this was a good play and I very much enjoyed reading it. This play, in particular, I found easy to read and while depressing, entertaining. It features some incredible insight to the nature and status of not only women in the 1920's, but the whole of the human condition. The main character, Helen or YOUNG WOMAN, is such a little mouse that it's a stretch to imagine her becoming so crazy with desperation that she'd jump from quivering wreck into an affair and then into murder. Young Woman's inner monologues, however, are fantastic and bridge the divide between who this character really is and whom she is forced to be. As far as reading the play, I would recommend it to anyone interested in expressionism or feminism.
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