Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline
Encyclopedia
Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline is a play by Canadian playwright George F. Walker
first produced at Toronto Free Theatre in 1977. It is loosely based upon the 1810 novel Zastrozzi: A Romance
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
.
The play is set in 1893. Zastrozzi, the master criminal of all Europe and a self-proclaimed atheist, like the character in the 1810 novel and Shelley himself, has focused for nearly three years on the pursuit of revenge against the murderer of his mother, the whimsical, unconstant, and delusionally God-obsessed artiste Verezzi. In the Shelley novel, Zastrozzi's mother Olivia is seduced and impregnated by Verezzi's father when she was fifteen, Zastrozzi is the illegitimate son, Verezzi is his half-brother and Olivia dies at thirty in poverty and abandoned, demanding that Zastrozzi avenge her. In both the novel and the play, Zastrozzi, with the help of his heartless protege Bernardo and his sometimes lover the seductress Matilda, chases Verezzi to a small town in the Italian countryside and engineers an elaborate plot to destroy his enemy. But while Verezzi may be an easy target, his tutor Victor, a former priest, presents a much more difficult challenge for Zastrozzi.
The play retains all the major characters of the Percy Byssshe Shelley 1810 novel: Zastrozzi, Verezzi, Julia, Matilda, Bernardo, and the Priest. The plot is the same in both works. Zastrozzi seeks to avenge his mother and blames Verezzi for her seduction, abandonment, and death. Matilda serves the same role in both works. The Shelley novel and the play both take place in Italy.
The same themes are addressed in both works: Atheism, revenge, the ethical and moral debates and issues relating to retribution.
as "Zastrozzi", Oliver Becker as "Bernardo", Sarah Orenstein as "Matilda", John Vickery
as "Victor", Andrew Shaver as "Verazzi" and Amanda Lisman as "Julia".
George F. Walker
George F. Walker, CM is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. He is one of Canada's most prolific playwrights, and also one of the most widely produced Canadian dramatists both in Canada and internationally.-Early years:...
first produced at Toronto Free Theatre in 1977. It is loosely based upon the 1810 novel Zastrozzi: A Romance
Zastrozzi
Zastrozzi: A Romance is a Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley first published in 1810 in London by George Wilkie and John Robinson anonymously, with only the initials of the author's name, as "by P.B.S."...
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
.
Plot and Characters
The major characters and the plot of the play are nearly identical with the 1810 novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley.The play is set in 1893. Zastrozzi, the master criminal of all Europe and a self-proclaimed atheist, like the character in the 1810 novel and Shelley himself, has focused for nearly three years on the pursuit of revenge against the murderer of his mother, the whimsical, unconstant, and delusionally God-obsessed artiste Verezzi. In the Shelley novel, Zastrozzi's mother Olivia is seduced and impregnated by Verezzi's father when she was fifteen, Zastrozzi is the illegitimate son, Verezzi is his half-brother and Olivia dies at thirty in poverty and abandoned, demanding that Zastrozzi avenge her. In both the novel and the play, Zastrozzi, with the help of his heartless protege Bernardo and his sometimes lover the seductress Matilda, chases Verezzi to a small town in the Italian countryside and engineers an elaborate plot to destroy his enemy. But while Verezzi may be an easy target, his tutor Victor, a former priest, presents a much more difficult challenge for Zastrozzi.
The play retains all the major characters of the Percy Byssshe Shelley 1810 novel: Zastrozzi, Verezzi, Julia, Matilda, Bernardo, and the Priest. The plot is the same in both works. Zastrozzi seeks to avenge his mother and blames Verezzi for her seduction, abandonment, and death. Matilda serves the same role in both works. The Shelley novel and the play both take place in Italy.
The same themes are addressed in both works: Atheism, revenge, the ethical and moral debates and issues relating to retribution.
Revivals
The play has had several revivals, including one in the 2009 season of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival at the Studio Theatre. It was directed by Jennifer Tarver and starred Rick RobertsRick Roberts (actor)
Rick Roberts is a Canadian actor. His most substantial role to date is as Donald D'Arby in the series Traders, for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award. He played Elizabeth Berkley's husband in the Lifetime made-for-television movie Student Seduction. Roberts has also appeared in L.A...
as "Zastrozzi", Oliver Becker as "Bernardo", Sarah Orenstein as "Matilda", John Vickery
John Vickery
John Estill Vickery is an American stage and film actor known for his work in Babylon 5 and Star Trek. Vickery grew up in Oakland, California. He attended the University of California at Davis, where he pursued a degree in mathematics...
as "Victor", Andrew Shaver as "Verazzi" and Amanda Lisman as "Julia".