Three poets:Three Plays

the long version

Three women who were astonishing poets are the subjects of this trio of linked short plays. Ono no Komachi (Japan, 9th century), Hrosvitha (Gandersheim, Saxony, 10th century), and Anna Akhmatova (USSR, 20th century) fight for their lives and their work. Komachi duels with the Prince Shoso, making her verses out of their conflict, until she meets a brutal end. Hrosvitha has her play acted before Mother Superior and a censoring monk, who have a furious battle over her work and leave her to decide how dedicated a poet she is. Akhmatova is summoned to the Kremlin upon the death of Stalin and must resist the ruthless Commissar's search for the words of her masterpiece, which has been committed to her memory and to the memories of her trusted friends.