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''Act Without Words II'' is a short mime play by Samuel Beckett, his second (after ''Act Without Words I''). Like many of Beckett's works, the piece was originally composed in French (''Acte sans paroles II''), then translated into English by Beckett himself. Written in the late 1950s〔''The Faber Companion to Samuel Beckett'' states that the work was written in 1958 (p 4), Eugene Webb in ''The Plays of Samuel Beckett'' says it was 1959 (pp 86-90), however Deirdre Bair, in ''Samuel Beckett: A Biography'' (p 500) indicates that he was working on this as far back as 1956〕 it opened at the Calderon Press Institute in Oxford and was directed by John McGrath. London premiere was directed by Michael Horovitz and performed at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, on 25 January 1960.〔 The first printing was in ''New Departures'' 1, Summer 1959. == Synopsis == Two sacks and a neat pile of clothes sit on a low, "violently lit"〔Beckett, S., ''Collected Shorter Plays of Samuel Beckett'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1984), p 49〕 platform at the back of a stage. Both sacks contain a man; B is on the left, A on the right. A long pole (described in the text as a "goad") enters from the right, prods the sack containing A to awaken him to his daily routine, and then exits. After needing a second prod A finally emerges. He is slovenly and disorganised. He gobbles pills, prays, dresses randomly, nibbles a carrot, and promptly "spits it out with disgust".〔 "He is a moper, a hypochondriacal dreamer, perhaps a poet."〔Lamont, R. C., ‘To Speak the Words of "The Tribe": The Wordlessness of Samuel Beckett’s Metaphysical Clowns’ in Burkman, K. H., (Ed.) ''Myth and Ritual in the Plays of Samuel Beckett'' (London and Toronto: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1987), p 63〕 His principal activity, without apparent purpose, is to carry the filled sack stage left and crawl back into his own which he does leaving the sack containing B now vulnerable to the goad. The goad reappears, this time with a wheel attachment, and prods the other sack, exiting as before. B is precise, efficient and eager; he only requires a single prod to rouse him. The clothes he – presumably – folded neatly before are now scattered about (clear evidence of the existence of a third party) but he never reacts to this and simply goes about his business. He knows how to dress and take care of his clothes. He takes greater care of himself (brushing his teeth and exercising), is better organised (he checks his watch – eleven times in total – and consults a map and compass before setting off to move the sacks), but still his shift is no more meaningful. Even though he has more to do than A, Beckett instructs that B performs his chores briskly so that they should take approximately the same time as A’s. After moving the sacks he undresses and, rather than dumping his clothes in a pile, B folds them neatly before crawling into his own sack. The goad appears for a third time (now requiring the support of two wheels) and attempts to wake A. Once again he needs two prods. He begins to replay his previous pantomime, but this time is cut off by a blackout, at which point the play ends. The initial reviews ranged "from puzzled to disapproving"〔Bair, D., ''Samuel Beckett: A Biography'' (London: Vintage, 1990), p 545〕 and the play fared little better in America but for all that Beckett wrote to Thomas MacGreevy:〔Samuel Beckett, letter to Thomas McGreevy, 9 February 1960〕 "I have never had such good notices." Alan Schneider believed the problem was that "()ritics can’t seem to comment on what’s before them without dragging in the older () and rationalising their previous reactions."〔Bair, D., ''Samuel Beckett: A Biography'' (London: Vintage, 1990), p 546〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Act Without Words II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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