Edward Franklin Albee

American playwright. Born in Washington, D.C., he was adopted into the wealthy Albee family as a child. His family life was wealthy but lacked love, which is said to have shaped his later themes (family distrust, marital conflict, etc.). He struggled to adapt to school life, dropped out of college, and began writing in New York, changing jobs several times. In 1959, his one-act play The Zoo Story, which depicts the violent human relationships of modern life, premiered in Berlin and attracted attention. This led to a series of one-act plays premiering off-Broadway in New York, including American Dreams (1961), and he came to be seen as a leader of American avant-garde theater. In 1962, he made his Broadway debut with his first multi-act play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which depicted the reality of a ruined family. After that, he energetically produced many realistic multi-act plays and one-act plays with a stronger experimental flavor, such as the philosophical "Tiny Alice" (1964), two Pulitzer Prize-winning works "A Delicate Balance" (1966) and "Seascape" (1975), which depict the psychology and fatigue of middle-aged men and women shaken by a sense of frustration, and became a playwright who literally represents the 1960s and 1970s. He continued to produce new works energetically after that, but he continued to depict the dark inner world of society and humans more deeply than before, and as a result, he was not well received in the theater world, especially Broadway, where a sweet humanism-oriented orientation was spreading. However, "Three Tall Women," which was brought to Broadway in 1994, won his third Pulitzer Prize and was warmly welcomed by the public for its depiction of the deep truth of life wrapped in humor and anguish. In addition to his playwriting, he has also been active in education, such as establishing a foundation to host performances to train young future playwrights and supporting avant-garde and experimental artists.

What was new about him when he started out in the 1960s was that he directly addressed issues that had been considered sacrosanct on Broadway up until then, namely, the common view of American life and personal happiness, and portrayed the false image of the so-called American dream in stark detail. In particular, in his representative work "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" he exposed the cruelty of marital relationships within the family and the devastation brought about by loneliness, and offered a sharp critique of civilization.

[Kaiko Kusuhara November 19, 2018]

"The Complete Works of Edward Albee, 6 volumes (1979-1986, Hayakawa Publishing)" ▽ "Modern Theatre Research Society, ed., Modern Theatre: Special Edition on Edward Albee (1980, Eichousha)" ▽ "The Drama of Edward Albee: Modern American Gothic, translated by Kuniko Takashima (1991, Apollonsha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカの劇作家。ワシントン市に生まれ、幼児期に富豪オールビー家の養子となる。その家庭生活は裕福だが愛情に欠け、のちに彼の主題（家庭不信、夫婦の相克など）を方向づけたといわれる。学校生活にもなじめず、大学中退後はニューヨークで転々と職業を変えながら創作を始めた。1959年、現代生活の暴力的な人間関係を描いた一幕劇『動物園物語』がベルリンで初演され注目される。それを契機にニューヨークのオフ・ブロードウェーでも『アメリカの夢』（1961）を含む一幕劇が次々と初演され、アメリカ前衛劇の旗手と目されるに至る。さらに1962年には、処女多幕劇で、荒廃した家庭の実体を描いた代表作『バージニア・ウルフなんかこわくない』でブロードウェーにもデビュー。以後、哲学的な『タイニー・アリス』（1964）、中年男女の挫折(ざせつ)感に揺れる心理や倦怠(けんたい)を描いたピュリッツァー賞受賞の2作『デリケート・バランス』（1966）、『海景』（1975）ほか、リアリズム色の濃い多幕劇や、実験色のより強い一幕劇を精力的に発表、文字どおり1960～1970年代を代表する劇作家となる。その後も精力的に新作を発表したが、以前にまして社会と人間の暗い関係の内面部分深くに描写を進め、そのために甘いヒューマニズム指向が広がるブロードウェーを中心とした演劇界で受けなくなっていた。しかし、1994年にブロードウェーに持ち込まれた『三人の背の高い女性』は三度目のピュリッツァー賞を受賞、人生の深い真実をユーモアと苦悩に包んで描き、人々に暖かく迎え入れられた。なお劇作の一方で彼は、基金を設立して若い未来の劇作家養成のための上演会を主催したり、前衛および実験芸術家の支援を行うなど、教育面にも力を注いできた。

　1960年代に出発した当時の彼の新しさは、それまでブロードウェーでは聖域視されてきた問題、すなわちアメリカ的な生活や個人の幸福に対する一般の考え方に、正面からメスを入れ、いわゆるアメリカの夢の虚像を赤裸々に描いた点にある。とくに代表作『バージニア・ウルフなんかこわくない』では家庭の内側の夫婦関係の残酷さや孤独がもたらす荒廃をえぐり、鋭い筆致で文明批評を行った。

［楠原偕子　2018年11月19日］

『鳴海四郎・鴫原真一訳『エドワード・オールビー全集』6巻（1979～1986・早川書房）』▽『現代演劇研究会編『現代演劇　エドワード・オルビー特集』（1980・英潮社）』▽『高島邦子訳『エドワード・オールビーの演劇――モダンアメリカン・ゴシック』（1991・あぽろん社）』

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