BLACK WATER. ON THE ROYAL ROAD.

Two theatre plays

  •  Jelinek’s works were translated into 44 languages!
  • Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004. 


A blind king who deals in real estate, golf courses and casinos has made a fortune, and suddenly rules the USA. And the rest of the world rubs its eyes in disbelief.

On a Balearic island, an Austrian politician promises a rich Russian woman control of the domestic media landscape in order to strengthen her own power, and sells her the countryside along with it. Rivers and lakes become a privatised object of speculation, mountains and valleys are used for lucrative road construction.

The names of the people involved in Blackwater and On the Royal Road are well known, but they don't play a role. In her two highly topical plays, Elfriede Jelinek fundamentally examines the phenomenon of right-wing populism, which spreads like a virus around the globe and poisons the climate, both socially and ecologically.

Between tragedy and the grotesque, lofty tones and corny jokes, Jelinek also self-critically questions her own position and outlines possible forms of resistance.

“Elfriede Jelinek is again the first to feel the pulse of the time.” Süddeutsche Zeitung
“Elfriede Jelinek tracks the catastrophes of the present like no other comparable dramatist.” Der Standard

 

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Hardcover
  • Release: 28.01.2020
  • ISBN: 978-3-498-00199-5
  • 240 Pages
  • Author: Elfriede Jelinek

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Buchcover von BLACK WATER. ON THE ROYAL ROAD.: Zwei Theaterstücke
Elfriede Jelinek BLACK WATER. ON THE ROYAL ROAD.
Portrait von Elfriede Jelinek
© Claudia Müller
Elfriede Jelinek

Elfriede Jelinek , who was born in 1946 and grew up in Vienna, now lives in Vienna and Munich. She has received numerous awards for her literary works, which include not only novels but also plays, poetry, essays, translations, radio plays, screenplays and opera librettos. Her awards include the Georg Büchner Prize and the Franz Kafka Prize for Literature. In 2004 she was awarded with Nobel Prize for Literature.