I've seen Garden Party performed and loved it. Reading the rest of these I loved them too. Two basic eras of his career are represented here, his pre-dissident career (which was partially political but mostly meant to entertain) and his dissident work which was banned and distributed in Czechoslavakia only as samizdat. I definitely prefer the former - they're more absurdist, more playful, less bitter, funnier, and a little bit sexy in places. The latter are surprisingly good for what they are, though. "Audience" in particular is a stand-out, a confrontation between the author and a man assigned to spy on him for the government, which is dedicated almost entirely to exploring and sympathizing with the loyalist spy's perspective. The warmth and humility on display by Havel there is very becoming. ( )