I am a professional theatre director in the UK and am always looking for interesting new and forgotten plays to stage. I have "The Empire Builders", "The Knacker's ABC" & "The General's Tea Party". Somewhere else on this sight it says that Vian wrote seven plays - are the other 4 available in English and are the 3 I have available in newer translations? Many thanks, Simon Du

-- Simon Dunmore (Simon.Dunmore@btinternet.com), November 23, 1998

Answers

Hi Simon,

I don't have a very recent bibliography but I am fairly sure that the Ones you mention are the same ones I have and those are the Only ones available. His others were published in French in, I believe, a volume called Theatre II (see the biblio from Cismaru's book below). Theatre I had the ones you mention plus his sacreligeous one, Le derneir de metiers (The WORST of the Professions)

Rob

PRIMARY SOURCES

Works signed Boris Vian

Vercoquin et le plancton. Paris: Gallimard, 1947.

L'Automne a Pekin. Paris: Editions du Scorpion, 1947.

L'Ecume des jours. Paris: Gallimard, 1947.

Mood Indigo. Tr. John Sturrock. New York: Grove Press, 1968.

Barnum's Digest. Paris: Deux Menteurs, 1948.

Les Fourmis. Paris: Editions du Scorpion, 1949.

L'Herbe rouge. Paris: Editions Toutain, 1950.

Cantilines en gelie. Paris: Rougerie, 1950.

L'Equarrissage pour tous. Paris: Editions Toutain, 1950.

The Knacker's ABC. Tr. Simon Watson Taylor. New York: Grove Press, 1968.

Le Dernier des mitiers. Paris: Editions Toutain, 1950.

L'Arrache-coeur. Paris: Editions Vrille, 1953.

Fiesta. Paris: Editions Heugel, 1958.

En avant la zizique. Paris: Le Livre Contemporain, 1958.

Les Batisseurs d'Empire. Paris: Collige de Pataphysique, 1959.

The Empire Builders. Tr. Simon Watson Taylor. New York: Grove Press, 1966.

Les Lurettes fourris. Paris: Jean-Jacques Pauvert, 1962.

Le Gouter des gineraux. Paris: Collige de Pataphysique, 1962.

The General's Tea Party. Tr. Simon Watson Taylor. New York: Grove Press, 1967.

Thiatre I (Le Dernier des mitiers, L'Equarrissage pour tous, and Le Goiuter des giniraux). Paris: Union Ginirale d'Editions, 1965.

Textes et chansons. Paris: Union Ginirale d'Editions, 1966.

Trouble dans les Andains. Paris: La Jeune Parque, 1966.

Thiatre II (Tite de Miduse, Sirie blime, and Le Chasseur frangias). Paris: Union Ginirale d'Editions, 1971.

-- Robert Whyte (rob@toadshow.com.au), November 23, 1998.

Simon Watson Taylor, Pataphysician extraordinaire, has finally brought his round-the-world travels to an end and is now back in Britain. He can be contacted, in the first instance, through stuartchristie@mac.com

-- Stuart Christie (stuartchristie@mac.com), May 08, 2002.