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جونسون عبر الأردن - زيارة مفتش الشرطة
Johnson Over Jordan, which was something new for Priestley, followed close upon the heels of the very different play, When We Are Married, and it had its fair share of problems after being first presented at the New Theatre on 22nd February 1939. After only a few weeks it was clear that it could not continue: audiences were thin, and it ws losing money hand over fist. Priestley ended its run, hired the smaller Saville Theatre, and persuaded Basil Dean to take only half a royalty. Ralph Richardson agreed to continue on no salary for a few weeks, and after some adjustments, the play was relaunched with seats at reduced prices.
To expllain the background...Since their earliest collaboration in the theatre, JBP frequently talked of doing a play especially for his friend Ralph Richardson, and Basil Dean recalled: "One day Priestley handed me the script of Johnson Over Jordan, a modern morality play in which the outstanding events of a man's life flit through the middle years of temptation, thence to unsullied youth --a life history in reverse as it were. I realised that it would afford rare opportunities not only for the display of Ralph's gifts but also give me a chance to resume my experiments in new production methods."
Judith Cook wrote: "For Johnson Over Jordan Priestley drew on all his theatrical expertise, his thoughts on time, his reading of Jung, Dunne and Ouspensky and his desire to experiment with what are now known as multimedia theatrical forms, but which were new to theatre in the late 1930s. Most of the play's critcis described it as 'expressionist', an adjective that Priestley considered totally inaccurate.
Happily, the play has survived, and the introduction to the most recent publicaqtion of the play described the story thus:
Robert Johnson (he was played by Richardson) lived the most ordinary of lives, until he died. Suddenly he is catapulted into the strangeness of his afterlife and begins a frightening, lurid and emotional journey. Past memories, secret desires and present regrets and longings mingle with the real, surreal and sublime.
To expllain the background...Since their earliest collaboration in the theatre, JBP frequently talked of doing a play especially for his friend Ralph Richardson, and Basil Dean recalled: "One day Priestley handed me the script of Johnson Over Jordan, a modern morality play in which the outstanding events of a man's life flit through the middle years of temptation, thence to unsullied youth --a life history in reverse as it were. I realised that it would afford rare opportunities not only for the display of Ralph's gifts but also give me a chance to resume my experiments in new production methods."
Judith Cook wrote: "For Johnson Over Jordan Priestley drew on all his theatrical expertise, his thoughts on time, his reading of Jung, Dunne and Ouspensky and his desire to experiment with what are now known as multimedia theatrical forms, but which were new to theatre in the late 1930s. Most of the play's critcis described it as 'expressionist', an adjective that Priestley considered totally inaccurate.
Happily, the play has survived, and the introduction to the most recent publicaqtion of the play described the story thus:
Robert Johnson (he was played by Richardson) lived the most ordinary of lives, until he died. Suddenly he is catapulted into the strangeness of his afterlife and begins a frightening, lurid and emotional journey. Past memories, secret desires and present regrets and longings mingle with the real, surreal and sublime.
- GenresPlays
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
33 people want to read
About the author
J.B. Priestley
362books280followersJohn Boynton Priestley, the son of a schoolmaster, was born in Bradford in September 1894, and after schooling he worked for a time in the local wool trade. Following the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Priestley joined the British Army, and was sent to France --in 1915 taking part in the Battle of Loos. After being wounded in 1917 Priestley returned to England for six months; then, after going back to the Western Front he suffered the consequences of a German gas attack, and, treated at Rouen, he was declared unfit for active service and was transferred to the Entertainers Section of the British Army.
When Priestley left the army he studied at Cambridge University, where he completed a degree in Modern History and Political Science. Subsequently he found work as theatre reviewer with the Daily News, and also contributed to the Spectator, the Challenge and Nineteenth Century. His earliest books included The English Comic Characters (1925), The English Novel (1927), and English Humour (1928). His breakthrough came with the immensely popular novel The Good Companions, published in 1929, and Angel Pavement followed in 1930. He emerged, too, as a successful dramatist with such plays as Dangerous Corner (1932), Time and the Conways (1937), When We Are Married (1938) and An Inspector Calls (1947).
The publication of English Journey in 1934 emphasised Priestley's concern for social problems and the welfare of ordinary people.
During the Second World War Priestley became a popular and influential broadcaster with his famous Postscripts that followed the nine o'clock news BBC Radio on Sunday evenings. Starting on 5th June 1940, Priestley built up such a following that after a few months it was estimated that around 40 per cent of the adult population in Britain was listening to the programme.
Some members of the Conservative Party, including Winston Churchill, expressed concern that Priestley might be expressing left-wing views on the programme, and, to his dismay, Priestley was dropped after his talk on 20th October 1940.
After the war Priestley continued his writing, and his work invariably provoked thought, and his views were always expressed in his blunt Yorkshire style.
His prolific output continued right up to his final years, and to the end he remained the great literary all-rounder. His favourite among his books was for many years the novel Bright Day, though he later said he had come to prefer The Image Men.
It should not be overlooked that Priestley was an outstanding essayist, and many of his short pieces best capture his passions and his great talent and his mastery of the English language. He set a fine example for any would-be author.
When Priestley left the army he studied at Cambridge University, where he completed a degree in Modern History and Political Science. Subsequently he found work as theatre reviewer with the Daily News, and also contributed to the Spectator, the Challenge and Nineteenth Century. His earliest books included The English Comic Characters (1925), The English Novel (1927), and English Humour (1928). His breakthrough came with the immensely popular novel The Good Companions, published in 1929, and Angel Pavement followed in 1930. He emerged, too, as a successful dramatist with such plays as Dangerous Corner (1932), Time and the Conways (1937), When We Are Married (1938) and An Inspector Calls (1947).
The publication of English Journey in 1934 emphasised Priestley's concern for social problems and the welfare of ordinary people.
During the Second World War Priestley became a popular and influential broadcaster with his famous Postscripts that followed the nine o'clock news BBC Radio on Sunday evenings. Starting on 5th June 1940, Priestley built up such a following that after a few months it was estimated that around 40 per cent of the adult population in Britain was listening to the programme.
Some members of the Conservative Party, including Winston Churchill, expressed concern that Priestley might be expressing left-wing views on the programme, and, to his dismay, Priestley was dropped after his talk on 20th October 1940.
After the war Priestley continued his writing, and his work invariably provoked thought, and his views were always expressed in his blunt Yorkshire style.
His prolific output continued right up to his final years, and to the end he remained the great literary all-rounder. His favourite among his books was for many years the novel Bright Day, though he later said he had come to prefer The Image Men.
It should not be overlooked that Priestley was an outstanding essayist, and many of his short pieces best capture his passions and his great talent and his mastery of the English language. He set a fine example for any would-be author.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 8, 2018
This is definitely not a typical J B Priestley play. I did read that it was not well received when it was first staged and I can understand why. It's experimental and perhaps ahead of its time. It's an interesting premise but I found it a bit difficult to keep focused on the story because of its surrealism, except in the shorter scenes that take place in the present. I was going to abandon it part way through Act 1. I am glad I finished it because it gets better towards the end of Act 2 until the end. This would have been a very challenging play to mount at the time it was written.
February 19, 2018
A quick introduction: J. B. Priestley was a popular, prolific British novelist and playwright who lived from 1894 to 1984 and whose most successful writing years seemed to be from 1930 to 1950. He also had a political career.
To me, he seemed most comfortable at writing comedy, but his two best known plays, An Inspector Calls and Time and the Conways are dramas. He also seemed better at creating male characters than female.
Johnson Over Jordan is one of his maybe half-dozen experimental plays and was very hard for me to get through. It's about life after life and accomplishment, regrets, and redemption, and there's unfortunately virtually nothing new Priestley adds to the discussion.
To me, he seemed most comfortable at writing comedy, but his two best known plays, An Inspector Calls and Time and the Conways are dramas. He also seemed better at creating male characters than female.
Johnson Over Jordan is one of his maybe half-dozen experimental plays and was very hard for me to get through. It's about life after life and accomplishment, regrets, and redemption, and there's unfortunately virtually nothing new Priestley adds to the discussion.
December 20, 2021
مسرحية زيارة مفتش الشرطة حاجة عظيمة �
عن الطبقة العليا التي تثق انها لا تخطىء ابداً ثم تفاجىء انها تسكن في بيت عنكبوت .
عن الطبقة العليا التي تثق انها لا تخطىء ابداً ثم تفاجىء انها تسكن في بيت عنكبوت .
October 15, 2014
Well, what can you say about this play? Ahead of its time? Experimental? Daring? Deeply moving? All those is the answer. This is a play that by the end becomes a deeply felt experience. It is ripe for rediscovery by a professional theatre director and company. The story of a man who having died gets the chance to relive certain moments of his past and come to terms with who he is. He is also tested by a series of hallucinatory events in which his persona, his shadow, his fears and anxieties are probed and exposed. It's also a moral play and for me it eventually is optimistic. The final scene is very moving. Read it, produce it, direct it. That's my advice.
August 28, 2011
The language and execution are pedestrian, but I can imagine the last scene, in the original staging and with Ralph Richardson and Britten's fantastic music, must have seemed quite transcendent.
February 7, 2013
It's like Kafka with a happy ending...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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