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lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
In life their role is to keep the show going, railing it through the mud of everyday reality. Here, theatre and appearance keep their purity: the ceremony remains intact.
Interesting! But a bit too allegorical for me to really enjoy it that much. Most of the action is staged in a brothel during a revolution, in an unnamed time and place. Every time I felt like I was just starting to get into a character, we'd switch focus for a while, and I ended up with few points of connection. Most of the insight that I really enjoyed came from things I learned after the fact, like the fact that an old French name for brothels is 'house of illusions'. Might have hit harder on a whole if I'd listened to or watched a performance, or tried it in French. Some great lines here and there though (Fuck off! I'm trying to search my soul!) and I look forward to reading Genet's prose, which is a different kind of experience.
gracedwithbooks's review against another edition
3.0
The Balcony is aa play that explores the relationship between realism and fantasy. The setting, a brothel where the clientele pays to live in a very realistic version of their fantasies. But when the outside world or "the real" starts to seep in, the clients have a hard time separating fact from fiction and start to lose themselves as they get lost in their roles.
The Balcony by Jean Genet relies quite heavily on the concept of icons and symbols. Powerful men come to Irma’s brothel to embody these “symbols” of society such as the bishop, the judge, and more. They request the experience be as realistic as possible so they can embody that character, literally become it themselves.
Through this, I believe Genet is trying to say, literally anybody can become a symbol. Fantasy and reality are so closely intertwined that it truly only takes the right outfit and choice words to convince the world you are someone else.
The Balcony by Jean Genet relies quite heavily on the concept of icons and symbols. Powerful men come to Irma’s brothel to embody these “symbols” of society such as the bishop, the judge, and more. They request the experience be as realistic as possible so they can embody that character, literally become it themselves.
Through this, I believe Genet is trying to say, literally anybody can become a symbol. Fantasy and reality are so closely intertwined that it truly only takes the right outfit and choice words to convince the world you are someone else.
lukija's review against another edition
4.0
Kuvaelmia vallasta. Ei sievistelijöille.
Scenes about power. Not for the prudes.
Scenes about power. Not for the prudes.
misspalah's review against another edition
3.0
ROGER (thoughtfully): Twenty women for Chantal?
THE MAN (Sharply): A hundred.
ROGER (still pensively): And it's probably because of her that we'll win. She already embodies the Revolution. ...
THE MAN: A hundred. You agree?
ROGER: Where are you taking her? And what'll she have to do?
CHANTAL: We'll see. Don't worry, I was born under a lucky star. As for the rest of it, I realize my power. The people love me, they listen to me, they follow me.
ROGER: What will she do?
THE MAN: Hardly anything. As you know, we're attacking the Palace at dawn. Chantal will go in first. She'll sing from a balcony. That's all.
ROGER: A hundred women. A thousand and maybe more. So she's no longer a woman. The creature they make of her out of rage and despair has her price. In order to fight against an image Chantal has frozen into an image. The fight is no longer taking place in reality, but in the lists. Field azure. It's the combat of allegories. None of us know any longer why we revolted. So she was bound to come round to that.
THE MAN: Well, is it yes? Answer, Chantal. It's for you to
answer.
CHANTAL (to the Man): I'd like us to be alone for a moment. I've got something else to say.
(THE MAN moves off and goes back into the shadow.)
ROGER (violently): I didn't steal you for you to become a unicorn or a two-headed eagle.
CHANTAL: You don't like unicorns.
ROGER: I've never been able to make love to them. (He caresses her.) Nor to you either.
- Scene Six : The Balcony by Jean Genet
.
.
Its a play that sets in a brothel whereby men paid for their fantasy to play men in power. Outside the brothel, the revolution is currently ongoing and this is where a huge uproar occurred when Chantal, one of the prostitutes decided to quit and joined the movement. Since this is a classic and also translated from French to English, it took me a while to get used to the way it was written. It could be also the way it was translated, but i am not sure on this part since i don’t understand french. What Jean Genet try to demonstrate here is more on the illusion versus reality (these common men paid to live out their fantasies), Revolution and counter revolutionary and political upheaval of the twentieth century. I also think that this play was written because of his contempt towards prostitution. This is solely because his mother was a prostitute and he was being abandoned by her. He also didn’t know who his father was. Overall, the play was a nice change for once. I read it in one shot. Although i must admit that it can be somewhat confusing on what’s going on and the symbolism can be a hot or miss for some readers. Read it at your own risk!
THE MAN (Sharply): A hundred.
ROGER (still pensively): And it's probably because of her that we'll win. She already embodies the Revolution. ...
THE MAN: A hundred. You agree?
ROGER: Where are you taking her? And what'll she have to do?
CHANTAL: We'll see. Don't worry, I was born under a lucky star. As for the rest of it, I realize my power. The people love me, they listen to me, they follow me.
ROGER: What will she do?
THE MAN: Hardly anything. As you know, we're attacking the Palace at dawn. Chantal will go in first. She'll sing from a balcony. That's all.
ROGER: A hundred women. A thousand and maybe more. So she's no longer a woman. The creature they make of her out of rage and despair has her price. In order to fight against an image Chantal has frozen into an image. The fight is no longer taking place in reality, but in the lists. Field azure. It's the combat of allegories. None of us know any longer why we revolted. So she was bound to come round to that.
THE MAN: Well, is it yes? Answer, Chantal. It's for you to
answer.
CHANTAL (to the Man): I'd like us to be alone for a moment. I've got something else to say.
(THE MAN moves off and goes back into the shadow.)
ROGER (violently): I didn't steal you for you to become a unicorn or a two-headed eagle.
CHANTAL: You don't like unicorns.
ROGER: I've never been able to make love to them. (He caresses her.) Nor to you either.
- Scene Six : The Balcony by Jean Genet
.
.
Its a play that sets in a brothel whereby men paid for their fantasy to play men in power. Outside the brothel, the revolution is currently ongoing and this is where a huge uproar occurred when Chantal, one of the prostitutes decided to quit and joined the movement. Since this is a classic and also translated from French to English, it took me a while to get used to the way it was written. It could be also the way it was translated, but i am not sure on this part since i don’t understand french. What Jean Genet try to demonstrate here is more on the illusion versus reality (these common men paid to live out their fantasies), Revolution and counter revolutionary and political upheaval of the twentieth century. I also think that this play was written because of his contempt towards prostitution. This is solely because his mother was a prostitute and he was being abandoned by her. He also didn’t know who his father was. Overall, the play was a nice change for once. I read it in one shot. Although i must admit that it can be somewhat confusing on what’s going on and the symbolism can be a hot or miss for some readers. Read it at your own risk!
anneliehyatt's review against another edition
3.0
A little heavy-handed and didactic for my taste but the idea is incredibly unique. Got a little lost in the plot but I'm having a super bad day and read it in a very fractured manner so that's my fault, I think.
amandayokingco's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
salsabeelarif's review against another edition
4.0
The Balcony is for the people who love exploring croissant-like layers of our reality.
juicydsalinger's review against another edition
4.0
In a brothel, a man pretends to be a judge. He begs to be dominated by the thief. Outside, gunshots ring out in the midst of a civil war. The thief asks him to kiss her feet. A woman screams as she is murdered.
I feel particularly lucky to have read this piece during the stay-at-home phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. In Genet's play, the world is crumbling outside in the midst of social uprising, and in a brothel, they act out and recreate a new society.
As always, the erotic plays a major role in Genet's work. Unlike in his novels, where the erotic is a humanistic craving tied to the body, this play employs psychological role-play. These characters act out their sexual fantasies, as priests, executioners, royalty, as the real-world versions of these roles are murdered outside of their brothel. And suddenly, the best representation of these roles are taken by the johns and the ladies of this house of fantasy.
Genet's consistent fascination with the self, the reflection, and the mask peaks with 'The Balcony'. Actors play reflections of actors. The fantasy does not end with reality. Characters wear masks and as a war goes on outside––threatening and killing the leaders of this unnamed government--the mask turns them into the role. They are the priest. She is the queen.
While reading in quarantine, the idea of isolation, fantasy, and the blurred line between self-created "outside world" and an inner-fantasy were reflections that felt unbelievably contemporary. The societal roles we cling to are immaterial and ever-shifting. A tiny upheaval in history is all that it takes for the prostitute to become the martyr of social revolution.
I feel particularly lucky to have read this piece during the stay-at-home phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. In Genet's play, the world is crumbling outside in the midst of social uprising, and in a brothel, they act out and recreate a new society.
As always, the erotic plays a major role in Genet's work. Unlike in his novels, where the erotic is a humanistic craving tied to the body, this play employs psychological role-play. These characters act out their sexual fantasies, as priests, executioners, royalty, as the real-world versions of these roles are murdered outside of their brothel. And suddenly, the best representation of these roles are taken by the johns and the ladies of this house of fantasy.
Genet's consistent fascination with the self, the reflection, and the mask peaks with 'The Balcony'. Actors play reflections of actors. The fantasy does not end with reality. Characters wear masks and as a war goes on outside––threatening and killing the leaders of this unnamed government--the mask turns them into the role. They are the priest. She is the queen.
While reading in quarantine, the idea of isolation, fantasy, and the blurred line between self-created "outside world" and an inner-fantasy were reflections that felt unbelievably contemporary. The societal roles we cling to are immaterial and ever-shifting. A tiny upheaval in history is all that it takes for the prostitute to become the martyr of social revolution.
yuyuxdripdrop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25