Deathwatch (play)
Encyclopedia
Deathwatch is a play
written by Jean Genet
in 1947, performed for the first time in Paris
at the Théâtre des Mathurins in February 1949 under the direction of Jean Marchat.
are locked up in the same cell. Green-Eyes (Yeux-Verts) has killed a woman and is to be guillotined
. Maurice and Lefranc are sentenced for more minor crimes. Maurice has a deep attachment to Green-Eyes, as does Lefranc, but secretly. He also hates Maurice, while feigning to hate Green-Eyes, preferring him to Snowball (Boule-de-Neige). Snowball himself is also condemned to death (his presence in the play is only evoked, not actual) and along with Green-Eyes they are considered the Kings of the prison. In fact their sentence traps them in a solitude and an immense unhappiness which lends them a certain dignity. Lefranc who is constantly in conflict with Maurice––especially because of Green-Eyes's woman that both of them desire––ends up strangling him so as to join Green-Eyes in his solitude and dejection.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
written by Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
in 1947, performed for the first time in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the Théâtre des Mathurins in February 1949 under the direction of Jean Marchat.
Plot
Three prisonersPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
are locked up in the same cell. Green-Eyes (Yeux-Verts) has killed a woman and is to be guillotined
Capital punishment in France
Capital punishment was practiced in France from the Middle Ages until 1977, when the last execution took place by guillotine, being the only legal method since the French Revolution. The last person to be executed in France was Hamida Djandoubi, who was put to death in September 1977. The death...
. Maurice and Lefranc are sentenced for more minor crimes. Maurice has a deep attachment to Green-Eyes, as does Lefranc, but secretly. He also hates Maurice, while feigning to hate Green-Eyes, preferring him to Snowball (Boule-de-Neige). Snowball himself is also condemned to death (his presence in the play is only evoked, not actual) and along with Green-Eyes they are considered the Kings of the prison. In fact their sentence traps them in a solitude and an immense unhappiness which lends them a certain dignity. Lefranc who is constantly in conflict with Maurice––especially because of Green-Eyes's woman that both of them desire––ends up strangling him so as to join Green-Eyes in his solitude and dejection.