Jacques and His Master - A Play

A deliciously witty and entertaining "variation" on Diderot's novel Jacques le Fatalist, written for Milan Kundera's "private pleasure" in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia.

When the "heavy Russian irrationality" fell on Czechoslovakia, Milan Kundera explains, he felt drawn to the spirit of the eighteenth century—"And it seemed to me that nowhere was it to be found more densely concentrated than in that banquet of intelligence, humor, and fantasy, Jacques le Fataliste."

The upshot was this "Homage to Diderot," which has now been performed throughout the United States and Europe. Here, Jacques and His Master, newly translated by Simon Callow, is a text that will delight Kundera's admirers throughout the English-speaking world.

But in this dizzying verbal duel, who is truly the master and who is the servant when the story itself takes control?

Master and Servant Dynamic: Follow the endless, hilarious arguments between Jacques and his Master, where the servant’s fatalistic wisdom constantly outmaneuvers his master’s authority. Meta-theatrical Storytelling: A play acutely aware it is a play, where characters question their author, debate their own plot, and speak directly to the audience in a brilliant rejection of theatrical illusion. Nested Tales of Love and Revenge: Lose yourself in stories within stories, from the elaborate, cruel seduction of Mme de La Pommeraye to Jacques’s own bawdy history of how he lost his virginity. A Philosophical Response to Tyranny: Discover Kundera’s personal "homage" to the Enlightenment, written as an antidote to the "heavy Russian irrationality" that fell on his homeland after the Prague Spring.