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"Ideal for students and teachers of drama and literature, the commentary covers the themes, style, language, characters and context of the play and includes a full set of study aids."
--Sardines Magazine (Spring/Summer 2009)
--Sardines Magazine (Spring/Summer 2009)
Product Description
Described by its author as 'almost irresponsibly optimistic', Saved is a play set in London in the sixties. Its subject is the cultural poverty and frustration of a generation of young people on the dole and living on council estates. The play was first staged privately in November 1965 at the Royal Court Theatre before members of the English Stage Society in a time when plays were still censored. With its scenes of violence, including the stoning of a baby, Saved became a notorious play and a cause celebre. In a letter to the Observer, Sir Laurence Olivier wrote: 'Saved is not a play for children but it is for grown-ups, and the grown-ups of this country should have the courage to look at it.' Saved has had a marked influence on a whole new generation writing in the 1990s. Edward Bond is "a great playwright - many, particularly in continental Europe, would say the greatest living English playwright" (Independent)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This play is unique. When first reading it i thought that it was gross and it made me cry. But when analysing it and realising what edwawd bond was doing it made me find the book interesting anda very clever way to write a book. He isntactually talking about a baby getting killed his main effect is to show the audience what society is like today, and it really does happen. He is trying to make people look and see what is happening instead of hiding from the bad things that go on in society today
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
There goes Len, seeing Their misery from the inside
28 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback
After years of hearing about the famous scene in Saved, and wanting to read it, and maybe even see it, I finally got to do the former, and am here to pass on that this is a remarkable play, not to be missed if it is being presented near you, and is also a great read-who likes working their Cockney dialect?-and has a wallop of a core to boot.
Very much an ensemble story, Saved does have a main character, but it's scenes are mostly two-person short/quick dialogues, full of angst and boredom. The scene of infanticide is in the middle and serves as the apex of the nothingness that embodies the lives of these post-war, post-angry young man English, who's pursuits are none, other than occasional work, a night out, eating...you know, the basicness that allows for cruelty, when no valuable purpose is apparent.
What makes Saved remarkable though is Len, the central character, who's constant interest and seemingly clueless tenacity turns out to be it's moral core that resounds with a curiosity and compassion that make for a real courageous and bold vision of modern life.
Len's involvement in the family, his presence at their home, his dogged attachment to Pam, his lone interest in the baby, his questioning of Fred, his excitment at Mary and willingness to bond with Harry all make for a picture of hope and wonder in the midst of so much hatred, fear, nihilism, desperation, ignorance, boredom.
A true classic. Highly recommended. Needs to be seen to be truly appreciated.
Very much an ensemble story, Saved does have a main character, but it's scenes are mostly two-person short/quick dialogues, full of angst and boredom. The scene of infanticide is in the middle and serves as the apex of the nothingness that embodies the lives of these post-war, post-angry young man English, who's pursuits are none, other than occasional work, a night out, eating...you know, the basicness that allows for cruelty, when no valuable purpose is apparent.
What makes Saved remarkable though is Len, the central character, who's constant interest and seemingly clueless tenacity turns out to be it's moral core that resounds with a curiosity and compassion that make for a real courageous and bold vision of modern life.
Len's involvement in the family, his presence at their home, his dogged attachment to Pam, his lone interest in the baby, his questioning of Fred, his excitment at Mary and willingness to bond with Harry all make for a picture of hope and wonder in the midst of so much hatred, fear, nihilism, desperation, ignorance, boredom.
A true classic. Highly recommended. Needs to be seen to be truly appreciated.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Boredom Gets 'Em Every Time
28 Jun 2007
Format:Paperback
If you can believe that people make love out of boredom, why should you have trouble believing that they would kill just to pass the day? This play, a modern "must read/see" classic, takes as its premise that murder and fornicating become morally more or less indistinguishable when people have nothing better to do. The banality of evil? Well, if you can sit at your desk and sign death warrants for 6 million Jews, why not throw lighted matches and burning cigarette butts into a baby's perambulator? Why not try a few stones? London audiences were said to have gasped at the sight of the notorious scene, but in the overall context of the play, it's nothing new. The author sets up the 'world' of these oafs and louts, who have never had a thought in their heads, let alone some sort of complex moral compunction. They're deadheads. The author's play is upsetting not because they throw rocks at kids but because they do it because it was done to them, because...etc., right back to the stone age. Who ever said there was progress?
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Powerful, sad, violent play
20 Jan 2002
Format:Paperback
Yesterday night, I saw the play "Saved", by Edward Bond, with 2 friends of mine. It was translated in Greek, but I'm sure it doesn't lose anything of the original English text in the translation, which was excellent. The play lasted a little more than 3 hours, which in itself was exhausting. So, one first comment is that, while "Saved" is good writing, & the characters come alive...still, why 3 hours? Definitely overlong, in my opinion.
"Saved" is basically the story of a family. A father & mother, who hate each other & won't even address each other by name, but still live in the same house. Their daughter, who is a very sick young woman, maybe suffers from bipolar disorder & clearly has severe psychological problems. This woman, Pam, forms a relationship with a young man (Len) who seems kind of a loser, but is kind & caring nontheless. In the beginning, they promise that they'll be different from Pam's parents...but of course, this promise soon, too soon, is forgotten. Still, Len is the only person that stands by Pam, when she's most in need, & even after she falls desperately in love with another man, who couldn't care less about her.
The rest of the story I won't reveal. "Saved" is basically the story of extreme unhappiness in one family, a family that choses silence & sometimes loud, violent fights over talking & trying to communicate. They don't know HOW to communicate, all they know is shouting, hating, throwing things & crying. This is a very sad (but powerful) play, very violent at parts, which is the reason for the 3 stars: I can understand & appreciate characters with problems. But there's one scene which has to do with a baby, which broke my heart while I was watching it, & which I can't seem to get over. I know it is a powerful scene, & I know that many people might argue that it's the most meaningful scene in the play. But I just found it too cruel to be meaningful.
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