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Strange Interlude

Public domain audiobook

Strange Interlude

by Eugene O'Neill

English· 08:11:03· 9 chapters
Winner of the 1928 Pulitzer Prize, Strange Interlude is a Freudian melodrama that seeks to explore the vast, unfathomable murk of the human unconscious. To accomplish this goal, playwright Eugene O’Neill employed an experimental use of soliloquies, where characters revealed their unvarnished inner thoughts directly to the audience, revealing the psychic turmoil lurking beneath the placid masks of polite society. Following its first exhibitions, Strange Interlude also became a lightning rod of controversy and censorship due to its frank portrayals of topics such as abortion, infidelity, sexual desire, and mental illness.

Set in the aftermath of World War I, the play follows the lives of several characters over the span of two decades. Our central character, Nina Leeds, is haunted by the recent death of her fiancé during the war. Her despair and despondency gradually take an inward, self-destructive turn, as she indulges in a number of sordid affairs before tumbling into a loveless marriage. Thus begins a chain of events that will haunt the lives of all who fall within Nina’s orbit. - Summary by ChuckW

Cast List:
Stage Directions, Part 1: AliceStein
Stage Directions, Part 2: dc
Charles Marsden: Beeswaxcandle
Professor Henry Leeds: Larry Wilson
Nina Leeds: Jenn Broda
Edmund Darrell: Tomas Peter
Sam Evans: ARodrigo
Mrs. Amos Evans: Agnes Robert Behr
Gordon Evans (aged 11): Damien Le
Gordon Evans (as an adult): ToddHW
Madeline Arnold: Stacey Malcolm

LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.

Chapters

  1. Chapter 1

    Act One

    54:39
  2. Chapter 2

    Act Two

    57:14
  3. Chapter 3

    Act Three

    44:00
  4. Chapter 4

    Act Four

    58:12
  5. Chapter 5

    Act Five

    51:21
  6. Chapter 6

    Act Six

    1:04:18
  7. Chapter 7

    Act Seven

    50:20
  8. Chapter 8

    Act Eight

    1:07:45
  9. Chapter 9

    Act Nine

    43:14