The Dragon

The play “The Dragon” had a reputation as dissident in Soviet times. To kill the dragon, one must first defeat the dragon within oneself. The dangerous meaning of the fairy tale outweighed the associations with fascism lying on the surface, and the play was banned for many years. Today, Schwartz’s play can be perceived both as a sharp political satire and as a romantic love drama. Or one can simply enjoy every word of the brilliant text, discovering in the fairy tale the original source of many long-familiar catchphrases.