FRAGMENTE and 3.31.93

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Lars Norén, generally considered Sweden's greatest playwright since August Strindberg, has written over 75 plays. While they are regularly per­formed in Nordic and European countries and have been translated into sev­eral languages, English-language readers were deprived of his major works until 2013, when Chaucer Press Books published Two Plays: And Give Us the Shadows and Autumn and Winter, followed by Three Plays: Demons, Act, and Terminal 3 and then by Blood and War. This volume pre­sents two of Norén's most recent major plays in English that are thematically related, written after the financial collapse of 2008: FRAGMENTE is about what happened to the working class after the collapse, especially how its members-composed of many immigrants hit by layoffs and uncertainty-did their best to live through their often life-threat­ening situation. 3.31.93. is about a middle class neighborhood in a big city whose citizens-fraught with angst, illness and psychological problems after the financial collapse-both depend upon and avoid each other. In both plays horrific, pointless crimes are committed that seemingly reflect the "disconnect" between people and governmental bu­reaucracies attempting desperately, but in vain, to be helpful and caring. What really stands out about these plays, however, is how they capture the charac­ters' humanity and the essence of their everyday lives, for better or worse. Translator Marita Lindholm Gochman was born in Sweden and came to America in 1964, where she has had a rich theatrical career. In 1985 she translated her first Norén play into English, The Last Supper, and has since translated 25 of his plays-making her Norén's foremost English language translator. Since 1987 Ms. Gochman, who lives in Manhattan, NY, has served as a board member of Circle in the Square, The Inter­national Theatre Insti­tute, and The Signature Theatre. "Lars Norén, regarded by many as the greatest Swedish playwright since Strindberg, has dealt with the love-hate relationships of modern dysfunctional families in emotionally powerful and sombre plays spiced with absurd humour." -Encyclopedia Britannica Online "He has made the present time our home and exposed the anxiety beneath the surface of the welfare state." -Per Wastberg, former chairman of International PEN and editor-in-chief of Sweden's largest daily newspaper