Di 'Untertenike' A Drama In Ayn Akt/The Oppressed A Drama In One Act by Sinani

Trilingual 111th Anniversary Edition

Sinani (sometimes with an initial Z.) is a pseudonym of Shloyme-Zanvl Rappoport, better known as S. An-sky. An earlier version of this revolutionary play was published in Russian with the title Otets i syn (Father and Son.) In this edition, once the police storm into the house in search of a clandestine press, almost the entire dialogue switches from Yiddish to Russian. The Russian text was eliminated in the later, better-known version, Foter un zun (Father and Son.) The Jewish protagonists speak of friends and relatives who have been sent to prison or exiled to Siberia for anti-government activity. Every family seems to have at least one. The characters discuss the pros and cons of various movement, the Zionists being regarded with a certain bemused friendliness. The older people look down on the newer, younger leaders, contrasting them with the "real people" of yesteryear and their achievements. There is also good-natured banter about mundane household matters. The pleasantries vanish when the police start their interrogating and pressure the son to betray his comrades.