Recommended Reading List for THE COAST OF UTOPIA

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 1:31pm

Does anyone have a list of the recommended books for THE COAST OF UTOPIA trilogy?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 1:32pm

I know it's been posted on here before. And try the show's website.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 1:35pm

Thanks, munkustrap178.

Damn, why didn't I think of that?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 1:40pm

http://www.lct.org/coast/event_detail_explore.cfm?section=notes#5

FYI -- Isiah Berlin's "Russian Thinkers" was Stoppard's main source and just reading that is more than enough preparation (and supplemental info) for the trilogy. Actually just reading the notes on the Coast of Utopia site will give you plenty of background.

Updated On: 4/15/07 at 01:40 PM

[Katurian2]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 1:50pm

Exactly, Margo. I highly advise just reading "Russian Thinkers", and if you are super pressed for time, skip "The fox and the Hedgehog". While it is an intriguing essay on Tolstoy, it doesn't really pertain to the show itself. Be sure to brush up on your romanticism though before seeing "Voyage".

Updated On: 4/15/07 at 01:50 PM

[whatever2]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 3:51pm

i agree with margo that the notes on the site are sufficient background.

i'd also go a step further: read the plays themselves. the dialogue comes at you so fast and furious in the theater that i believe it would be very helpful to familiarize yourself with the text in advance. i wish i had. (i also do not believe it in anyway would have diminished the experience.)

sort of like reading one of shakespeare's plays before seeing a production, to increase your understanding ...

i gave this advice to a friend who flew in from chicago for a marathon -- she thought it was spot-on. fwiw.