Becket, ou l'Honneur de Dieu

In this four-act play, Jean Anouilh expresses his almost revolutionary point of view about Becket, the twelfth-century English bishop. This was a highly successful theatrical production that became an equally popular film. "Becket, ou l'Honneur de Dieu," staged by Jean Anouilh and Roland Piétri, was first presented in Paris on October 8, 1959, at the Théâtre Montparnasse-Gaston Baty. The play was produced in New York in 1960, with Anthony Quinn in the role of Henry Plantagenêt and Laurence Olivier as Thomas à Becket. The Paramount film production starred Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. An 11-page Introduction by the editors (in English) presents vital background information on the play and its author.