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Benjamin Kuras

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Benjamin Kuras (* April, 4, 1944) is an Anglo-Czech writer dubbed “a humorist who is taken seriously”[1] by The Prague Post and “Pope of Czech literature”[2] by the Czech daily Dnes. His non-fiction writing covers a broad variety of subjects from history, politics and religion to sex and food. His preferred dramatic genre is tragi-comedy.

Benjamin Kuras
Benjamin Kuras in 2007
Benjamin Kuras in 2007
BornMiloslav Kuraš
(1944-04-04)4 April 1944
Zlín
OccupationWriter
LanguageCzech, English
NationalityCzech and British
Notable worksSupper of Ashes, Friday Murder, Czechs and Balances, As Golems Go

Czech expatriate in London since 1968[3] (UK citizen since 1974), he worked for a decade as broadcaster with the BBC World Service and had his first English play performed on BBC Radio 4 in 1976. This was followed by further 15 plays,[4] mostly detective comedies, performed on radio and in small theatres in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Israel and the Czech Republic.[5]

His major success was Supper of Ashes, a tragi-comedy about the last days of the Italian Renaissance heretic philosopher Giordano Bruno. After a rehearsed reading at the Soho Poly in London, the play was taken up by BBC Radio and had a 16-month run in German translation in the repertory of Eurotheater in Bonn[6][7] where it was produced with the assistance of the Italian Institute of Culture and the University of Bonn. On the Czech stage, his play Friday Murder[8] remained in the repertory of a small Prague theatre from 2013[9][10] for 6 years and was voted best of the year at a festival of small-cast plays. His Never Done[11][12] played for 5 years in his birthplace Zlín and had a TV production.

In 1990, he started making return visits to the Czech Republic.[13] and took up writing again in Czech, with articles for several newspapers and magazines which by 2022 total over 3000. He is a regular contributor to the Czech mutation of Playboy. He has published over 30 books in Czech and 4 in English.[14] His latest Czech books, as well as a large number of articles, explore the suicide of Western civilisation and the perils it is currently facing. His latest produced play Self–Deceptions, written first in Czech, a comedy on the quirks of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre (with a bit of help from Che Guevara), had its premier on Czech Radio in 2013. Kuras' translations for the Czech stage include Jeff Baron´s Visiting Mr. Green[15][16] and John Misto´s Madame Rubinstein[17][18]

Plays

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List of plays[14] and selected reviews:

  • Anthony and Francis Are Alive (1976)
  • Friday Murder (1977)
  • Dead Bishop (1978)
  • Ice–Makers (1979)
  • An Encounter of the Fourth Kind (1980)
  • The Last Broadcast (1982)
  • Blasting In Progress (1983)
  • The Andromedan Way (1983)
  • Milk And Honey (1984)
  • Russian Salad (1985)
  • Never Done (1986)
  • Supper of Ashes (1988)
  • Mwrnckx – A Diary of an AIDS Virus (1988)
  • Goldberg, New York (1988)
  • The Golden City (1997)
  • Inspector Goldgerg Returns (2003)
  • The Spa That Never Dies (2009)
  • Self–Deceptions (2012)
  • Keeping Your Woman In Bliss (2012)
  • And Free Viagra (completed 2013)
Anthony and Francis Are Alive
  • “Full of relish, sinewy, witty and rich. Certainly the best radio of the week.”[19] (Philip Glassborow, The Listener)
  • “A comedy eschewing the extremes of heroism and cowardice and displaying cynicism with a human face. That Mr Kuras´ sharp-tongued, unprincipled dissenters might, like the Good Soldier Schweik before them, be an outpost of common decency and reason might outrage them, thereby providing more entertainment for evesdroppers.”[20] (Peter Vansittart, The Times)
Friday Murder
  • “Deft lunchtime two-hander … which amply demonstrates how the events of the past can live interminably to haunt history survivors.”[21] (Michael Coveney, The Financial Times)
  • “The unravelling of the situation … builds through humour and well-observed characterisation a rare intellectual excitement.”[22] (Ned Chaillet, The Times)

Books

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Selected books (in English)[23][24] and reviews:

  • Czechs and Balances (1996)
  • As Golems Go (1999)
  • Is There Life On Marx? (2000)
  • Restoring Comenius (2007)
Czechs and Balances
  • "Makes Czech history look as easy as getting thrown out of a window. Dissects the Czech national character with relish and wit […] an informative, highly entertaining perspective on Czech history – a rarity in English."[25] (David Speranza in The Prague Post)
As Golems Go
  • "A fine study of the thoughts and writings of the Maharal, presented in a humorous and popular format."[26] (Jonathan Magonet in European Judaism)
Is There Life On Marx?
  • "A series of short reflections on developments and problems in Czech society after 1989. One is bound to crack a smile sooner or later, the satirical portraits of contemporary politicians are particularly refreshing."[27] (Kathleen Hayes in The Prague Post)

References

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  1. ^ Levy, Alan (8–14 November 2000). "A humorist who is taken seriously". The Prague Post.
  2. ^ Buchert, Viliam (28 April 2005). "Benjamin Kuras – Ratzinger české literatury". MF Dnes (in Czech).
  3. ^ Tax, Vladimír (7 April 2003). "Writer and broadcaster Benjamin Kuras recalls his days at Radio Prague". Radio Prague International. Czech Radio. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. ^ Willoughby, Ian (10 May 2002). "Benjamin Kuras: a Czech author who lives in England but still makes waves at home". Radio Prague International. Czech Radio. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  5. ^ Grigar, Kay (1 November 2004). "Benjamin Kuras - political polemicist and occasional poet". Radio Prague International. Czech Radio. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  6. ^ Terschuren, H. D (3 December 1990). "Schutz vor Inquisition, Theater Central: B. Kuras "Phonix aus der Asche" uraufgefuhrt". Bonner Kulturleben (in German).
  7. ^ Hauser, Armin (January 1991). "Tiefsinnig, Benjain Kuras "Phonix aus unserer Asche — Girdano Bruno" im Euro-Theater Central". Bonner (in German).
  8. ^ "PLAYS ABOUT JEWISH SUFFERING" (PDF). AJR Information. No. 8 Vol. XXXII. Association of Jewish Refugees in Great Gritain. August 1977. p. 12. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  9. ^ Czech Dialog, 8/2013. Vražedný pátek : Divadlo v Řeznické uvádí hru britsko-českého autora Benjamina Kurase, online [2023-01-04] (in Czech)
  10. ^ Divadlo Řeznická. Vražedný pátek. 12 Sept 2013 [2023-01-04] (in Czech)
  11. ^ Rohál, Robert (16 October 2012). "Benjamin Kuras: Nikdy nekončí jsem napsal, abych zahnal stres z matky". novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. ^ Sladowski, Marcel (25 October 2013). "Před mateřskou láskou není úniku". MF Dnes (in Czech).
  13. ^ Velinger, Jan (17 November 2008). "Czech-British author Benjamin Kuras on the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia and the difficulty of returning 'home'". Radio Prague International. Czech Radio. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Kuras, Benjamin (Česká republika)". dilia.cz (in Czech). DILIA, z.s. 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  15. ^ Sekyrková, Kateřina (28 November 2018). "Derniéra hry Návštěvy u pana Greena se Stanislavem Zindulkou (29. listopadu 2018)". ZvicinaTV.cz (in Czech). MEOB. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Návštěvy u pana Greena". CeskaTelevize.cz (in Czech). Česká Televize. 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Madame Rubinstein". i-divadlo.cz (in Czech). Thaleia, z.s. 2018. ISSN 1802-5749. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  18. ^ Šťástka, Tomáš (7 November 2018). "Moje Madame Rubinstein? Baba sebestředná, lakomá, ostrá, říká Syslová". iDNES.cz (in Czech). MAFRA. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  19. ^ Glassborow, Philip (13 May 1976). "Radio". The Listener.
  20. ^ Vansittart, Peter (22 May 1976). "Plays that remain". The Times.
  21. ^ Coveney, Michael (30 June 1977). "The Friday Murder". The Financial Times.
  22. ^ Chaillet, Ned (1 July 1977). "The Friday Murder". The Times.
  23. ^ "Kuras, Benjamin". worldcat.org. CCLC. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Czechs and Balances: A Nation's Survival Kit". Goodreads, Inc. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  25. ^ Speranza, David (22 May 1996). "Émigré's book balances Czech history and humour". The Prague Post. The Prague Post s.r.o.
  26. ^ Magonet, Jonathan (March 2001). "Editorial". European Judaism. 34 (1 (Spring '01)): 1. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  27. ^ Hayes, Kathleen (9–15 May 2001). "Middle Earth, Benjain Kuras explores inner space". The Prague Post.
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