About this item
Highlights
- Kefalonia, 1941.
- About the Author: Louis de Bernières, who lives in Norfolk, published his first novel in 1990 and was selected by Granta magazine as one of the twenty Best of Young British Novelists in 1993.
- 112 Pages
- Drama, European
Description
About the Book
Rona Munro's adaptation of Louis de Bernières' much-loved epic novel, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, premiered on tour of the UK in 2019, before transferring to London's West End.Book Synopsis
Kefalonia, 1941. Captain Corelli, an enigmatic young Italian officer, is posted to the idyllic Greek island as part of the Axis occupying forces. Shunned by the locals at first, he proves to be civilised, humorous - and a consummate musician.
The captain is soon thrown together with Dr Iannis's strong-willed and beautiful daughter, Pelagia, who discovers all of the complexities of love, and how it can blossom in the most unexpected and profound way.
Review Quotes
"A fleet, muscular retelling. Liable to bring a lump to the throat."
--Daily Telegraph"A magical, moving immersion in Louis de Bernières' exquisite story that so many of us know and love."
--A Younger Theatre"A vivid and tumbling dramatic presence... real riches and depths are to be found, as it highlights the coarsening and toughening effects of life in wartime, balanced against an emotive love story." --Evening Standard
"Manages to both stay faithful to the original and inject it with freshness... much of the emotional drama comes from spectacle, song, movement and music and while this means that the weighty, winding narrative of the book is simplified, it feels more streamlined."
--GuardianAbout the Author
Louis de Bernières, who lives in Norfolk, published his first novel in 1990 and was selected by Granta magazine as one of the twenty Best of Young British Novelists in 1993. Since then he has become well known internationally as a writer, with his novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin winning the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Novel in 1994. As well as writing, de Bernières plays the flute, mandolin and guitar. He was born in London in 1954.
Rona Munro has written extensively for stage, radio, film and television including the award-winning plays The James Plays trilogy (National Theatre of Scotland, the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain), Iron (Traverse Theatre and Royal Court, London), Bold Girls (7:84 and Hampstead Theatre) and The Maiden Stone (Hampstead Theatre).
Other credits include adaptations of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Louis de Bernières' novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Scuttlers for Manchester's Royal Exchange, The Last Witch for the Traverse Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival, Long Time Dead for Paines Plough and the Drum Theatre Plymouth, The Indian Boy and Little Eagles for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Pandas for the Traverse in Edinburgh. She is the co-founder, with actress Fiona Knowles, of Scotland's oldest continuously performing, small-scale touring theatre company, The Msfits. Their one-woman shows have toured every year since 1986.
Film and television work includes the Ken Loach film Ladybird Ladybird, Aimee and Jaguar and television dramas Rehab (directed by Antonia Bird) and BAFTA-nominated Bumping the Odds for the BBC. She has also written many other single plays for television and contributed to series including Casualty and Dr Who. Most recently, she wrote the screenplay for Oranges and Sunshine, directed by Jim Loach and starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving.
She has contributed several radio plays to the Stanley Baxter Playhouse series on BBC Radio 4.