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The History of the Devil by Clive Barker |
by David Winnick
In the United States everyone has the right to a fair trial. In the mind of Clive Barker, the man who brought the world such memorable stories as "The Hellbound Heart" and "The Thief of Always", even the Devil deserves the same treatment. Barker is best known for his prose and film work but few people realize that he is also an accomplished artist and playwright.
"The History of the Devil" is one of the plays that can be found in his collection Incarnations. The collection contains three different (very different) plays "Colossus" and "Frankenstein in Love" round out the trifecta of horror. This review will focus solely on the last play in the collection.
The play opens with the abduction of a young attorney, Sam Kyle, by a very insistent demon. The demon informs Kyle that he is to defend The Devil in a trial to determine if he should be allowed to reenter heaven. The play jumps from London to the desert to the Garden of Eden to ancient Rome as the trial unfolds.
The true skill of this play is not in its concept which is no doubt unique in only a way that Barker can provide, but in The Devil himself. While the other characters in the play are interesting in their behavior and thoughts it is The Devil who draws the audience in. Barkers Devil is at once likeable and detestable at the same time. He enters the play with what can only be described as a too cool for the room attitude, "Enter The Devil, smiling. He is a star in his own rotted firmament as glamorous-and as artificial-as any Hollywood icon. A coat over his shoulder, perhaps. Sunglasses, perhaps. Perhaps nothing."
It is said that tragedy is supposed to elicit both fear and pity, with that in mind Barker has written an incredible piece of drama. By the end of the trial the reader does pity the Devil even taking into consideration all of the evil things that he has done. It is exactly this pity that brings about the fear; the reader is left to fear him or herself for his or her sympathy toward such a malevolent creature. The reader is left to question how can I feel such emotions for so great an evil?
In a world in which drama is rehashed over and over again, a world where almost every actor has played Rome or Juliet, Barker has dared to create a play that is unusual and harsh. No horror fans collection would be complete without a copy of "The History of the Devil".
As an added note for any aspiring actors and actresses out there, Barker has stated in a note at the beginning of the book that if any amateur or non profit organization would like to produce the play they simply need to write him or his representatives and he will help to minimize the contractual financial obligation, so as not to unnecessarily burden the production financially.
Incarnations: "The History of the Devil"
Author: Clive Barker
Release Date: December 1995
Publisher: Harper Collins, Prism
ISBN: 0-06-105244-2
David Winnick is constantly reading. The last book to send a chill down his spine was "I Am Legend". A professor tried to scare him once, to little avail.
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