Insula by Mihail Sebastian 8 out of 10

 Insula by Mihail Sebastian


8 out of 10

 

Mihail Sebastian is an excellent writer and this play is very good.

I have read The Journal and The Star Without a Name by Sebastian and I loved them both, the journal in particular.

The premise of The Island is very interesting and exotique.

Somewhere in Latin America there is a kind of coup d’état or one of their frequent- some time ago-revolutions.

At a train station we first meet Nadia and Bob as they are trying to get on the next train, but there are no options.

The young man is a famous football player, even if the woman has never heard him, lacking any knowledge of the game.

She is a painter.

Manuel is the third main character who makes a flamboyant entrance in the station-

-          I need to go to my important business… I am an important banker

-          But there are no trains

-          It is impossible; I will buy a ship if necessary. I will pay anything

-          There is a small plane that could fly you to Argentina

-          You will get $ 10,000 and I will pay another 10,000 for the plane

-          I will run to arrange it

The office clerk is away to try and get the plane, while the three stranded people make plans to fly away.

The banker is nonplused when the others express their wish to join him on the plane that represents the only out of the trap.

Manuel offers to pay two thirds of the cost, but his would be associates have only pennies in their pockets.

There is a dramatic twist when the clerk returns announcing that

-          The plane is ready and waiting

-          Here is the check on your name…

-          I am sorry but all the payments are to be made in cash, since this morning

-          How can you say that when my name opens any vault on the planet

The result is that the plane will not fly, because Manuel has no cash and there is a terrific Reversal of Fortune.

The three new found friends are hungry but they have very little to pay for, on the plus side- this situation brings them close together.

After this incident we find them together, after some weeks, still trapped in a lodging where they have to sell their clothes.

The strange situation is made even more perplexing by what is an unexpected ménage a trois, where both men love Nadia.

Nadia loves both Bob and Manuel.

They have not paid their rent and eat scraps and potatoes, when they find them, having descended into misery.

The men smoke a discarded half-smoked cigarette.

To add insult to injury, a policeman shows up, from the Vice Squad, threatening to take action against the immoral love triangle.

The moral seems to be that one can find happiness even in misery and in an awkward love affair to boot.

The rivals not only know of each, but they share the same accommodation and feel jealousy on an hourly basis.

But they still feel happy somehow…

The play is dramatically improved by George Constantin in the role of Manuel.

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