Music and politics collide in Stoppard’s ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’

“Rock ’n’ Roll”

By: Tom Stoppard

Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre

@ Henry… “Rock ’n’ Roll”

By: Tom Stoppard

Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre

@ Henry Heymann Theatre May 7-30

Who knew that rock ’n’ roll could have political roots?

Vaclav Havel was a playwright whose anti-communist comedies and revolutionary involvement led to his censure and imprisonment in what was previously Czechoslovakia. But once the Velvet Revolution launched Czechoslovakia into democracy, Havel’s actions were nationally recognized, and he became president of what would become the Czech Republic.

Playwright Tom Stoppard dedicates his play, “Rock ’n’ Roll,” to this man. Stoppard, born in the Czech Republic, acknowledges Havel’s anti-communist writing as one of his greatest influences.

Stoppard’s “Rock ’n’ Roll,” a play about the influence of rock music on the eventual demise of communist regimes in Czechoslovakia, premiered in London in 2005. Andrew Paul, the artist director of Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, decided to make the music-driven performance available to local audiences this spring.

Paul said he believes the play makes a good case for the argument that it was a shaggy-haired rock band, The Plastic People of the Universe — not the typical political rhetoric — that caused the shift toward democracy.

“The play has this message that art has relevance in the society, it’s why we are artists and why we do this,” Paul said. “But we also need that reminder that it has impact, because sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle.”

The Plastic People of the Universe is a band from the Czech Republic that is often said to represent the underground Prague culture that emerged in the ’60s and ’70s.

Paul said the band members of The Plastic People of the Universe play an important role in the play because they symbolize Czechoslovakia’s repression at the time.

“They were persecuted not because of their sounds, but because of how they looked,” Paul said. “They didn’t want to conform to how society wanted them to look. They were pagan and their music was very pagan, too. They’re almost like druids — very shaggy-looking.”

The play is set to a soundtrack that includes some of the most renowned rock music from the ’60s through the ’90s, highlighting bands such as The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, Rolling Stones and U2.

The play pays special attention to Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd, because he acts as the contrast to The Plastic People of the Universe and its rise to political stardom.

Barrett separated from his band partly because of excessive drug use and ended up moving into his mom’s house in Cambridge.

“Here’s a guy who could’ve been the biggest rock star on the planet, but he gave it all up,” Paul said. “He obviously didn’t want the fame. Then The Plastic People are not as talented but got the fame and glory — they must have really wanted that.”

Beyond the focus on music and politics, two love stories unfold on stage in “Rock ’n’ Roll.” The tale of two young lovers, Esme (Anwen Darcy as Young Esme, Helena Ruoti as Adult Esme), an English hippie, and Jan (Sam Redford), a Czech graduate student, is juxtaposed by the relationship between Esme’s parents, Max (Sam Tsoutsouvas), a Marxist English professor, and Eleanor (Helena Ruoti), a female scholar battling cancer.

In coordination with the rock ’n’ roll musical theme, the play suggests what Stoppard’s life would have been like had he lived in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The set also takes inspiration from rock concerts across the ages. Narelle Simmons, a CMU faculty member, designed the set using a combination of film and still projections.

Paul said he believes Pittsburgh audiences will respond well to a play that combines these elements.

“People wonder why we’re doing a play about the fall of communism now, but it has relevance because of what’s happening in our economy,” he said. “There are all these cracks showing in our idea of a capitalist society — words like “communism,” “capitalism” and “socialism” seem to work on paper, but in real life, things are different.”

With the amount of history and culture at which “Rock ’n’ Roll” hints, Stoppard evidently has plenty about which to sing.