WEALTH (PLUTUS)

Written by Aristophanes towards the end of the V century BCE, one of his eleven surviving comedies.

Plutus, the god of wealth, has lost his sight and roams the streets of Athens as a beggar.
Because he is blind, fortune is distributed randomly, and most times, unfairly.

An Athenian citizen and his servant, living in hardship, recognize him and set themselves to the mission of restoring his sight.  From that moment, wealth will go only to people who deserve it, which causes a true revolution in the city.

A timeless work of art, that deserves to be revisited in these uncertain times

Violence and The Sacred

Rene Girard -1972-

One of the most revolutionaries (and controversial) philosophical works of the 20th century.

Could violence be the force that originated our culture?  Rene Girard analyses ancient myths to build up his theory.  Later he wrote one of the deepest essays on Shakespeare, “A Theatre of Envy”, which we’ll recommend in the future, but let’s start by the beginning.

VIOLENCE AND THE SACRED

Rene Girard

Translated by Patrick Gregory

The Cherry Orchard

Anton Chekhov
Written in 1903, first staged by the Moscow Arts Theatre in 1904.

A play about ends and new beginnings, that deserves a re-reading considering the times we are living.

It has often been perceived as a sentimental drama about the passing from an old and charming gentry world to a brash new era of market economy.  But could it be a merciless critique to an idle class that lives from nostalgia and is incapable of adapting to change?  That is for you to find out.

In any case, Chekov considered his last play “a comedy”.

t’s The year is 50 bc, Gaul is entirely
occupied by the Romans.  Well, not
entirely… one small village of
indomitable Gauls still holds out
against the invaders.
Then Julius Caesar comes up with a
brilliant idea, a new and creative way
of domination:
to introduce capitalism into the village.