--- product_id: 50895985 title: "Six Characters in Search of an Author (NHB Drama Classics)" price: "679.94 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/50895985-six-characters-in-search-of-an-author-nhb-drama-classics store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Six Characters in Search of an Author (NHB Drama Classics) **Price:** 679.94 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Six Characters in Search of an Author (NHB Drama Classics) - **How much does it cost?** 679.94 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/50895985-six-characters-in-search-of-an-author-nhb-drama-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Number fifty nine in NHB's Drama Classics Series, providing the world's great drama at a great price. The introduction to this edition of Six Characters In Search Of An Author includes a short biography of Luigi Pirandello and chronology of his work; a guide to what happens in the play; a short history of the play in performance and its context; and a brief guide to characterisation, language and themes. Pirandello's play is about the nature of theatre and the problems of theatricality. When six characters, whose author has abandoned them mid-process, turn up at a rehearsal and demand to be played by the actors present an absurd drama ensues in which the characters attempt to resolve their tragedy and become 'real'. Pirandello's classic of twentieth century theatre is introduced and presented here in a brilliant new translation by Stephen Mulrine. Review: Post-modernism in the 21st Century - Luigi Pirandello's 1921 masterpiece was a pioneering piece of post-modernist theatre (which Webster's dictionary defines as, among other things, "typically characterized by ... ironic self-reference and absurdity"). It is beloved of drama schools, but as a piece of entertainment it's getting a bit dated now. This new (2007) version, by Ben Power and Rupert Goold (who directed the Stalinist Macbeth shown on BBC last year) brings the play right up to date, including topical issues that Pirandello never dreamt of. In this version, the play rehearsal of the original is replaced by a team of film-makers creating a documentary about assisted suicide. From a staging point of view, this means that screens are required on stage to display pre-recorded content. For an amateur drama society, that makes it very challenging in terms of staging, not to mention the difficult content (when I directed it last month, we had half a dozen people walk out and one serious letter of complaint, while others said it was the best thing they had ever seen. Alan Ayckbourn it isn't). I can't imagine an amateur society performing this play in its entirety without changes. My version omitted the suicide of the boy (try persuading a parent to let their 10-year old commit suicide on stage using a hypodermic needle), while the sex scene between the Father and the Stepdaughter is a very difficult thing to stage tastefully. The discussion between the Theatre-Makers and the Exec also has to be made specific to your actual production. Goold and Power have added a wholly new fourth act, where the post-modernist absurdity spirals off into strange territory, with a DVD commentary on the play that the audience has just seen and a discussion of how it is to be staged, followed by a conversation between Pirandello himself and his house-keeper on how to finish the play. Six Characters challenges us to examine how we view reality. The film-makers claim to be holding "the mirror up to nature", but recent controversies have shown that television reality is even more compromised than fiction (Peter Fincham, referenced in the script, is the BBC Controller forced to resign over footage that misleadingly seemed to show the Queen storming out of an interview in 2007). As the play progresses, we are seduced by the idea that fiction is actually more real than any reality we can perceive. We grow up, we grow old, we die. Our hair turns grey, our opinions shift, we swap Socialist Worker for the Daily Telegraph. Reality changes but fiction is eternal, and once a character's story is told he takes on a life of his own. For all its unsettling tragedy, Six Characters has a great deal of humour. But more than that, it celebrates the triumph of fiction and the creative imagination. Hamlet might not be real, but he shows us more about ourselves than Jerry Springer or Wife Swap ever will. Review: Good - The introduction / Publisher's notes are very helpful in contextualisation and for the author's background. I'd recommend this edition to anyone intending to study the play. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 1,610,620 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 6,202 in Drama (Books) 19,545 in Poetry & Drama Criticism | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 182 Reviews | ## Images ![Six Characters in Search of an Author (NHB Drama Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61JOgTg92uL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Post-modernism in the 21st Century *by P***N on 2 April 2011* Luigi Pirandello's 1921 masterpiece was a pioneering piece of post-modernist theatre (which Webster's dictionary defines as, among other things, "typically characterized by ... ironic self-reference and absurdity"). It is beloved of drama schools, but as a piece of entertainment it's getting a bit dated now. This new (2007) version, by Ben Power and Rupert Goold (who directed the Stalinist Macbeth shown on BBC last year) brings the play right up to date, including topical issues that Pirandello never dreamt of. In this version, the play rehearsal of the original is replaced by a team of film-makers creating a documentary about assisted suicide. From a staging point of view, this means that screens are required on stage to display pre-recorded content. For an amateur drama society, that makes it very challenging in terms of staging, not to mention the difficult content (when I directed it last month, we had half a dozen people walk out and one serious letter of complaint, while others said it was the best thing they had ever seen. Alan Ayckbourn it isn't). I can't imagine an amateur society performing this play in its entirety without changes. My version omitted the suicide of the boy (try persuading a parent to let their 10-year old commit suicide on stage using a hypodermic needle), while the sex scene between the Father and the Stepdaughter is a very difficult thing to stage tastefully. The discussion between the Theatre-Makers and the Exec also has to be made specific to your actual production. Goold and Power have added a wholly new fourth act, where the post-modernist absurdity spirals off into strange territory, with a DVD commentary on the play that the audience has just seen and a discussion of how it is to be staged, followed by a conversation between Pirandello himself and his house-keeper on how to finish the play. Six Characters challenges us to examine how we view reality. The film-makers claim to be holding "the mirror up to nature", but recent controversies have shown that television reality is even more compromised than fiction (Peter Fincham, referenced in the script, is the BBC Controller forced to resign over footage that misleadingly seemed to show the Queen storming out of an interview in 2007). As the play progresses, we are seduced by the idea that fiction is actually more real than any reality we can perceive. We grow up, we grow old, we die. Our hair turns grey, our opinions shift, we swap Socialist Worker for the Daily Telegraph. Reality changes but fiction is eternal, and once a character's story is told he takes on a life of his own. For all its unsettling tragedy, Six Characters has a great deal of humour. But more than that, it celebrates the triumph of fiction and the creative imagination. Hamlet might not be real, but he shows us more about ourselves than Jerry Springer or Wife Swap ever will. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good *by A***4 on 7 April 2014* The introduction / Publisher's notes are very helpful in contextualisation and for the author's background. I'd recommend this edition to anyone intending to study the play. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Awesome *by M***. on 5 August 2025* Awesome --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/50895985-six-characters-in-search-of-an-author-nhb-drama-classics](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/50895985-six-characters-in-search-of-an-author-nhb-drama-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-08-22*