Colin Wilson, The Death of God and other plays

Nicolas Tredell (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2008

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Colin Wilson wrote his play

The Death of God

in 1956-57 in response to a request from George Devine (1910-66), the director of the English Stage Company (founded 1955) at the Royal Court Theatre in London, which staged such plays as

Look Back in Anger

(1956) by John Osborne (1929-94) and

Roots

(1958) by Sir Arnold Wesker (b. 1932). Wilson’s play was rejected and has never been performed, but was eventually published in 2008.

The Death of God

is a three-act play set in a monastery in the Carpathian mountains around the year 2100. It main theme is the unsuccessful attempt of a future Christian church to enlarge its spiritual power through an alliance with worldly power. A war is taking place between the states of the Southern Alliance of 15 states, currently led by Michael (or Mitya)

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2128 words

Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "The Death of God and other plays". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 March 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24028, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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