Prince of Homburg

By Dennis Kelly

Heroic commander of the Prussian cavalry, the Prince of Homburg dreams of victory, glory and fame. But reckless disobedience during a crucial military operation leads the Prince into his greatest battle yet.
The creative team behind the Donmar’s critically acclaimed production of Life Is A Dream present Von Kleist’s poetic masterpiece, which is considered to be one of the most haunting and beautiful plays of the nineteenth century, exploring honour, courage, ambition and love. Adapted for stage by acclaimed British writer Dennis Kelly, this is an exciting new adaptation of a classic of European literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: OBERON BOOKS Ltd
• Release date: Oct 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781849439022

Dennis Kelly

Dennis Kelly’s plays include Debris, Osama the Hero, After the End, Love and Money, Taking Care of Baby, DNA, Orphans, The Gods Weep and The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas. His plays have been performed all over the world and have been translated into nearly thirty languages. For Television he co-wrote and created Pulling and has written and created Utopia for Channel Four. He also wrote the book for Matilda the Musical.

Reviews for Prince of Homburg

[devil_llama · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While technically being a play from the Enlightenment, it is set in the Renaissance, using Renaissance societal roles and expectations to ask the sort of questions often brought forward by the Enlightenment. This one actually has a bit of a timely message, fitting well with many of the obsessions of the past century. Is it all right for a soldier to disobey the order of a superior if the order appears to be destined to lead to failure, where success can be obtained by disobedience? Which is more important, law or morality? Or, for that matter, is love more important than honor? A major difference between this and a Renaissance play is that the author chooses to leave those questions unanswered. He presents the difficult problem, and allows others to chew on it. Decent writing, more exposition than is allowed in modern plays, and more happening off stage. This is not a criticism.

[quantum_flapdoodle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While technically being a play from the Enlightenment, it is set in the Renaissance, using Renaissance societal roles and expectations to ask the sort of questions often brought forward by the Enlightenment. This one actually has a bit of a timely message, fitting well with many of the obsessions of the past century. Is it all right for a soldier to disobey the order of a superior if the order appears to be destined to lead to failure, where success can be obtained by disobedience? Which is more important, law or morality? Or, for that matter, is love more important than honor? A major difference between this and a Renaissance play is that the author chooses to leave those questions unanswered. He presents the difficult problem, and allows others to chew on it. Decent writing, more exposition than is allowed in modern plays, and more happening off stage. This is not a criticism.

[gingerbreadman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It’s the night before the crucial battle with the invading Swedish army, a night when rest is of utmost importance. But on the high quarter grounds, the prince of Homburg is, embarrassingly, sleepwalking. This unmanly conduct puts him on the receiving end of a practical joke from the Elector, and when he wakes up it’s with a feeling he’s had a significant premonition. After all – isn’t he holding a strange glove in his hand, a glove that’s bound to belong to the woman of his dream? Still not sure if he’s awake or sleeping, he has a hard time concentrating on the briefing before the battle the next morning. And disobeys given orders as a result.Kleist is one of those writers that are so much before their day it’s hard to grasp. Written in 1811, this play reads like something by Kafka a hundred years later. The dreamlike ambience colliding with military bureaucracy is very effective, and it’s clever how Kleist lets each decision Homburg make end up in its opposite. Even when he decides to do the stout military thing and accept his punishment initiative is snatched away from him. Also very fond of Kleist’s female characters. There are but two of them, but they are active and full of initiative, unusual for the times when this play was written. Heinrich von Kleist continues to impress me with each play of his I read. I, who often yawn at classics, find his voice fresh, modern and complex. It’s too bad he isn’t staged more often in my country.