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Ranjit Bolt

RANJIT BOLT

  (1959 - )
Nationality:    English
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Curtis Brown Group Ltd  

Born in Manchester in 1959, Ranjit Bolt was educated at Perse School and at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an investment analyst and advisor for eight years, before concentrating on Theatre translation from the end of 1990.

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below is a list of Ranjit Bolt's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Art Of Seduction, The         Bacchae, The         Believe It Or Not         Braille Legacy, The         Cyrano De Bergerac         George Dandin         Grouch, The         Hercules         Idiot, The         Illusion, The         Le Cid         Liar, The         Lysistrata         Marriage Of Figaro, The         Merry Wives - the Musical         Mirandolina         Misanthrope, The         Miser, The         Oedipus At Colon         Oedipus the King         Real Don Juan, The         Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, The         Scapin         School For Wives, The         Sisterhood, The         Tartuffe         Three Sisters         Venetian Twins, The         Waltz Of the Toreadors, The
Art Of Seduction, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Marivaux (La Double Inconstance)

1st Produced:
Duke Of Cambridge, London     1997

Organisations:
US representative Peregrine Whittlesey agency

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bacchae, The

Synopsis:
a new god, with his charming followers, appears in town. Dionysus. He loves life and joy, freedom and good wine. the hedonistic young God wants to claim his position in thebes and so drives the women of the town into the woods, in ecstacy. there is a frantic party, a wild carnival. Dionysus leads his curious cousin and King, Pentheus, disguised as a woman amongst them. the Bacchae discover the plot and their fury will be merciless.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Euripides

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Fourth Monkey Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Believe It Or Not

Synopsis:
In Scribe's 'Le Puff'(1848) - translated here as 'Believe it or not' - an honourable cavalry officer returns to Paris after five years abroad to find his countrymen happily addicted to exaggeration, dissimulation and downright lying. Can he find happiness and keep his integrity in a world where nothing is what it seems? the enduring qualities of Scribe's work - the complex yet elegant plotting, the quirky characters, the sharply-written dialogue - are all very much in evidence, as with bouyant cynicism he skewers the worlds of letters, finance and politics.
Oberon

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Braille Legacy, The

Synopsis:
Louis Braille fifteen and blind is in an institute for the blind. Gabriel a fellow pupil bullies him. M Dufau the principal believes that until a cure is found for blindness the boys are better off doing basket weaving. Louis longs to be able to read literature. He invents an alphabet for the blind. M Dufau is helping a mad scientist to find a cure for blindness which involves kidnapping waifs off the street - they usually do not survive the experiments performed on them

Notes:
OriginalPlaywright - Sebastian Lancrenon. Music by Jean-Baptiste Saudray; orginal lyrics and book Sebastian Lancrenon

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cyrano De Bergerac

Synopsis:
This new version of edmond Rostand's classic play Cyrano de Bergerac is set in thirties India, where Cyrano pursues his love for Roxanne in an Asian setting.

Notes:
Original Playwright - edmond Rostand. Adapted By Jatinder Verma And Ranjit Bolt

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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George Dandin

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 6

Further Reference:
-

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Grouch, The

Synopsis:
If any writer on the contemporary British Drama scene deserves to be called "irrepressible", it is Ranjit Bolt, a translator and adapter, most often of Comeille or Moliere: the Grouch is an update of the latter's Le Misanthrope. He thrives on contradictions: his translations are usually in verse forms which draw attention to their artifice (here, tetrameter couplets), yet his characters sound natural and modem-day most of the time. the eponymous malcontent alceste here becomes alan, a literary critic who delights in plain-speaking as a corrective to the mindless flatteries routinely peddled in his and his beloved Celia's set. He and his friend Philip remark about an ingratiating poetaster: "God, how the fellow does persist!"/"He wants you on his Facebook list." When Celia is revealed to be the biggest hypocrite of the lot, playing all her friends and suitors off against one another, the unmasking is done by reading out incriminating e-mails (which are rendered in prose). In Bolt's work, touches like this either do not feel laboured at all, or else their contrivance becomes part of the fun, as when alan, refusing to pass judgment on another's poem, overemphasises the verse he himself speaks: "What right to judge it have I got?/Who am I - T.S. el-i-ot?"
- Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere, from Le Misanthrope

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hercules

Synopsis:
a new translation specially commissioned by absolute Classics. Seneca's poetic account of this classic story reveals the passion for rhetoric that was to have such a strong influence on Elizabethan Drama and particularly on Marlowe and the young Shakespeare.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Seneca

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Idiot, The

Synopsis:
L'etourdi (1653), the first, the fastest, and perhaps the funniest of Moliere's verse comedies, in a new and highly entertaining translation.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 10

Further Reference:
-

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Illusion, The

Illusion, The
a comic play within a play within a play.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Pierre Corneille

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Old Vic Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 15

Further Reference:
-

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Le Cid

Le Cid
Le Cid, Corneille's most famous play, signalled a resurgence in French Drama during the seventeenth century.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Pierre Corneille

1st Produced:

Organisations:
National Theatre, London

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 11

Further Reference:
-

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Liar, The

Synopsis:
a hilarious comedy

Notes:
Original Playwright - Pierre Corneille

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Old Vic Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 14

Further Reference:
-

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Lysistrata

Lysistrata
Lysistrata, frustrated at the ongoing violence of the civil war, convinces the women of athens to deny their husbands sex, until a treaty for peace has been signed. aristophanes is astonishingly ahead of his time in this, probably his greatest and most enduring comedy

Notes:
Original Playwright - Aristophanes

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Peter Hall Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Marriage Of Figaro, The

Synopsis:
To help us forget the Mozart opera and see the play and its shrewd social critique afresh, Tara Arts has shifted the action from 18th-century France to 18th-century India. Here the Count becomes the Nawab; Suzanne becomes Rukhsana. the idea is that a similar sense of social upheaval prevailed in India. and while French Drama had the tradition of commedia dell'arte, Indian Drama had its own popular comic style in Bhavai.
Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

Notes:
Original Playwright - Beaumarchais

1st Produced:
New Players, London     2006

Organisations:
Tara Arts Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Merry Wives - the Musical

Synopsis:
When Sir John Falstaff sets out to woo a rich mistress to solve his financial worries, he soon discovers that the Wives of Windsor are more than a match for him. Love, song, laughter and merriment combine in a new musical version of Shakespeare's popular comedy.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Shakespeare. Adapted by Gregory Doran, music by Paul engishby, lyrics by Ranjit Bolt. Merry Wives - the Musical was first performed At the RSC in December 2006 As part of the Complete Works festival. the production featured Simon Callow As Falstaff And Judi Dench As Mistress Quickly, with music by Paul Englishby.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:
-

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Mirandolina

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Carlo Goldoni

1st Produced:
Manchester, Royal Exchange     2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Misanthrope, The

Synopsis:
the Misanthrope was first performed in Paris in 1666. exasperated by the corruption of society, the cynical but noble alceste wrestles with his love for the worldly and coquettish Celimene.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
Picaddily Theatre, London    

Organisations:
Peter hall Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Miser, The

Synopsis:
L'avare (1666) is Moliere's great satire on materialism, a funny yet sophisticated story of cunning, guile and double-dealing, not only by the Miser himself, but also by the Miser's family and servants.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 10

Further Reference:
-

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Oedipus At Colon

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Epidaurus, Greece     02 Sep 1996

Organisations:
National Theatre, London

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Oedipus the King

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Epidaurus, Greece     02 Sep 1996

Organisations:
National Theatre, London

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Real Don Juan, The

Synopsis:
a softened, romanticised version of the infamous hero whose story ends, uniquely, in repentance and salvation. Unashamedly and ingeniously improved upon by Ranjit Bolt.

Notes:
from Zorrilla

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 17

Further Reference:
-

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Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, The

Synopsis:
Corrupt local politician Dogsborough is caught up in shady dealings involving a loan to a shipping company

Notes:
Original Playwright - Bertolt Brecht

1st Produced:
Colchester, Mercury     2005

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  5            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Scapin

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 10

Further Reference:
-

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School For Wives, The

Synopsis:
ultra witty comedy of manners

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
-     1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama Translation

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sisterhood, The

Synopsis:
Henriette just wants to marry the man she loves. Is that too much to ask? It certainly is for her intellectual mother, aunt and sister - the "learned ladies", who can't bear to see Henriette throw her life away. They have a different man in mind for her; a self-proclaimed genius of poetry and the arts. However, her put-upon father will be pushed around no more! He's determined to support Henriette in her choice of husband, and so the battle lines are drawn. . .

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
Crescent Theatre, Birmingham     08 Dec 2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Verse

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  cast of 10

Further Reference:
-

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Tartuffe

Synopsis:
the religious fraud Tartuffe has wormed his way into the affections and household of rich merchant, Orgon, with pantomime piety and counterfeit zeal. So comprehensively has he hoodwinked Orgon that he looks set to succeed in driving away the son, marrying the daughter, seducing the wife and imprisoning Orgon. Moliere's satirical farce, which aims its shafts at religious and sexual hypocrisy is transported from 17C France to contemporary Turkey and Islam

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Three Sisters

Synopsis:
In a backwater town in rural Russia, the Prozorov sisters contend with mind-numbing boredom by aspiring to a return to city life in Moscow. the arrival of a new army commander brings their hopes and dreams into sharp focus in this hilarious and heartbreaking tragi-comedy.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Anton Chekhov

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the faction

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Venetian Twins, The

Synopsis:
revolves around an escalating case of mistaken identiy. a pair of identical twins, Zanatto and Tonino - the former a rich but dim-witted merchant, raised apart from his sibling, the latter a high principled gentleman - wind up in Verona at the same time

Notes:
Original Playwright - Carlo Goldoni

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  3            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Waltz Of the Toreadors, The

Synopsis:
comedy of romantic regrets and marital compromise

Notes:
Original Playwright - Jean Anouilh

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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