В Дамаск: (Части I–III)

To Damascus: Parts I, II, IIIAugust Strindberg’s Autobiographical Masterpiece of expressionist drama and mystical theatre “I have been to Damascus—and I have seen the light.”1898–1904. In the aftermath of his infamous “Inferno” crisis—a period of madness, paranoia, occult experiments, spiritual torment and religious awakening—August Strindberg wrote what many consider his greatest dramatic achievement: the trilogy To Damascus—the first modern “station drama”, inspired by the Stations of the Cross. Part autobiographical confession, part mystical pilgrimage, this groundbreaking cycle follows “the Stranger” (Strindberg’s alter ego) on a symbolic journey from despair to tentative salvation. In Part I (1898), the unnamed Stranger — Strindberg’s alter ego — flees a failed marriage and haunted past, meeting the Lady (his real-life wife Harriet Bosse) in a symbolic Damascus. Their union becomes a battlefield of love, hate, and destiny, haunted by the Beggar, the Doctor, and the Confessor. The Stranger’s journey ends in a monastery, confronting his “double” — his own divided soul. Part II (1900) plunges deeper into the abyss: the Stranger, now married but tormented by jealousy and visions, wanders through taverns, asylums, and symbolic landscapes. The Lady gives birth amid omens; the Stranger descends into madness, meeting his past sins personified. It’s Strindberg’s rawest exploration of the male psyche — misogynistic, mystical, and merciless. Part III (1904) offers uneasy redemption: the Stranger, aged and broken, returns to the Lady in a final reckoning. Ghosts of their past — the Mother-in-Law, the Daughter — force confession and absolution. The trilogy closes in ambiguous grace, with the Stranger facing the Crucifixion as his own path to Damascus. Strindberg’s masterpiece blends naturalism, symbolism, and autobiography into a proto-Expressionist fever dream. Influencing Beckett, Ionesco, and Ingmar Bergman (who adapted it for stage and screen), it remains the ultimate drama of the divided self. Written amid Strindberg’s divorce from Bosse and conversion to Catholicism, it’s his most personal — and prophetic — work. Strindberg called it “a dream play in the making.” Critics hail it as the bridge between his naturalistic period (Miss Julie) and the full expressionism of A Dream Play and The Ghost Sonata. Influences range from Swedenborg’s mysticism to Dante’s Divine Comedy and the Pilgrim’s Progress. Freud admired its psychological depth; later directors like Ingmar Bergman and Robert Wilson staged it as a landmark of modern theatre. The trilogy’s circular structure, shifting realities, and raw exploration of guilt, love, and spiritual rebirth make it one of the most innovative works in dramatic literature. Perfect for fans of Ibsen, Chekhov, Beckett, or anyone drawn to theatre that explores the darkest corners of the human soul. Over 120 years old, it still shocks with its psychological depth and spiritual fire. This Paperback Edition (A4, ~108 pages)