Collected Plays for Stage and Radio

Starting with <I>Pals</I>, the first play in this collection, the author demonstrates a flair for the bizarre. In <I>Simply Simon</I> he forces the reader to suspend his disbelief, for all the cows in the village have “forgotten” how to flick their tails. Several of the plays have the Holocaust as a background, and even here Kaufman introduces personages who have a sense of humor. They all need help to make a life for themselves in the tense world we live in. Many characters and plots are reminiscent of personal experiences, although the author insists they are, to a great extent, fictitious. In <I>Lucky To Be Here</I>, he tells of a young boy’s impressions in a midsize American city during the years of World War II—largely an account of his own growing-up as a refugee from Nazi Germany. <I>Lifelines</I> also has its roots in the old world. In <I>IS 200</I>, Kaufman comes to terms with the devastating experience of surviving a stroke. All in all, the reader will not be bored!