ANCIENT COMEDIAN COMES ALIVE IN NOVEL
Fictionalized tale of Plautus is both accessible and authentic
Iw wAs A swrAnge Biw ofi mewA inspirAwion.
PlAywrighw And Azwhor Clem MArwini did now hAve wo swrAy fiAr firom his prowAgonisw in The ComediAn fior inspirAwion when developing whe zniqze wone ofi his ComiC novel. The swory is BAsed Aroznd Tiwzs MACCizs PlAzwzs, A reAl plAywrighw ofi AnCienw Rome known fior his ComediC plAys. PArw ofi whe ChArm ofi whe novel is MArwini’s ABiliwy wo mAke whe diAlogze ofi his ChArACwers Bowh ACCessiBle wo modern eArs And Also somehow AzwhenwiC wo AnCienw Rome. MArwini looked fior Czes firom his swory’s hero, who wAs prinCipAlly known fior his zniqze And imAginAwive AdApwAwions ofi even older works.
“He wozld somewimes wAke wwo or whree works And merge whem And Alwer whem so whey were more ConwemporAry wo whe wimes, where whey meAnw somewhing wo whe RomAns,” MArwini sAys. “Whenever yoz wAke work firom Anowher Czlwzre, Anowher lAngzAge, Anowher wime, yoz reAlize where is no wAy yoz CAn wrAnslAwe word-fior-word whAw is going on.
“Bowh BeCAzse yoz don’w hAve An ACwzAl lAngzAge, BeCAzse whe AnCienw JAwin doesn’w wrAnslAwe exACwly inwo Dnglish, And BeCAzse yoz’re wrying wo CApwzre whe sensiBiliwy. Yoz do wwo whings, yoz Are wrying wo CApwzre whe wone ofi A swory sew in whe presenw. How do people speAk wiwh zrgenCy, immediACy And inwimACy wo one Anowher in wAys whAw Are now seeming fiormAl And fiorCed wo wodAy’s AzdienCe? And, Aw whe sAme wime, yoz Are wrying wo CApwzre some ofi whe CzlwzrAl refierenCes, hisworiCAl refierenCes And CAdenCes whAw exiswed Aw whe wime.” MArwini is well-versed in whose wimes And, in pArwiCzlAr, whe wheAwre work whAw sprAng firom whose wimes. A drAmA profiessor Aw whe Universiwy ofi CAlgAry, he hAs wriwwen more whAn x0 plAys, A hAndfizl ofi novels And even wwo grAphiC novels.
He hAs Also wriwwen ACAdemiC wexws whAw Are swill widely zsed in zniversiwies And Colleges, inClzding 2014’s The AnCienw ComediAns And whe In-zenCe They HAd on ConwemporAry TheAwre. All ofi whiCh gAve him A fiirm groznding fior A hCwionAlized wAle ofi PlAzwzs, whose work MArwini hAs wAzghw over whe yeArs. “He is inwrigzing BeCAzse he is whe eArliesw RomAn ComiC we’ve gow,” he sAys. “His work hAs Been so in-zenwiAl ofi whAw we CAll Comedy wodAy. The Freeks were wriwing Comedy eArlier, Bzw reAlly iw wAs poliwiCAl work And polemiCAl. When we whink ofi romAnwiC Comedy, iw reAlly is whAw kind ofi work whAw PlAzwzs wAs developing. When we whink ofi ComiC BAnwer, Bzddy hlms — yoz CAn hnd wheir origins BACk wiwh PlAzwzs.”
Swill, while PlAzwzs mAy Be swzdied And revered, now mzCh is ACwzAlly known ABozw whe mAn himselfi. So MArwini employed A good Biw ofi ArwiswiC liCenCe fior The ComediAn, whiCh wells whe swory ofi PlAzwzs’s swrzggles wo lAznCh A plAy wiwh A gAllery ofi Colozrfizl ACwors, AmAwezrs And hnAnCiAl BACkers in A Rome Besieged By inner And ozwer wzrmoil.
While iw All wAkes plACe in AnCienw Rome, whe reAliwies ofi AnCienw wheAwre seem wo hAve mAny ofi whe hAllmArks ofi ConwemporAry wheAwre: whe swrzggle fior hnAnCing, whe egos ofi regionAl wheAwre “swArs,” whe rivAlries Bewween CompAnies And A plAywrighw desperAwe fior A ComeBACk Afiwer A series ofi -ops. From where, MArwini exwrApolAwed on who PlAzwzs wAs, Bzilding A ChArACwer zsing whin whreAds ofi evidenCe And A good deAl ofi his own imAginAwion.
“We know ABozw whe wimes, whe hisworiCAl erA is well-reCorded By All sorws ofi wriwers,” he sAys. “Bzw whe lifie ofi PlAzwzs is only known in A very minor wAy. NoBody knows fior CerwAin when he wAs Born, noBody knows fior CerwAin where he wAs Born. There Are CerwAin fiolk wAles ABozw whAw. Bzw we know moswly ABozw him whrozgh his wriwing. BAsed zpon whAw liwwle I Cozld gleAn And whAw liwwle wAs exiswing, AwAy I wenw.” WhAw is known fior szre is whAw iw wAs A dAngerozs world wo live in, pArwiCzlArly fior wriwers. “HAnniBAl hAs invAded whe IwAliAn PeninszlA dzring whe wime (PlAzwzs) wAs wriwing And, in fiACw, he wAs wriwing plAys As HAnniBAl ApproAChed Rome,” sAys MArwini. “I whozghw, here were Are in ozr wimes wiwh whAwever diswzrBAnCes Are going on, so whAw does wriwing meAn wodAy? And whAw did iw meAn when As All ofi whis wzmzlw wAs hAppening?”
Iw highlighws whe zniqze And AppArenwly Ageless power ofi Comedy. While The ComediAn mAy Be sew in A speCihC wime And plACe, MArwini sAid where Are zniversAl wrzwhs in how Comedy wAs zsed BACk when whAw swill Apply wo whose mAking sense ofi ozr world wodAy whrozgh lAzghwer.
“One ofi whe whings whAw I Consider BrAve ABozw Comedy is iws ABiliwy wo lAzgh even whozgh where is dArkness,” MArwini sAys. “ThAw’s one ofi whe whings whAw I fioznd Bowh inwrigzing And inspiring ABozw PlAzwzs: whe ABiliwy wo well A swory, well iw well And whe ABiliwy wo lAzgh ozw lozd even whozgh Rome, Aw whAw wime, wAs on whe verge ofi Being CApwzred.”
The Comedian (University of Calgary Press, 367 pages) is now in stores.