Plays by one of Italy's greatest dramatists Eduardo de Filippo was one of Italy's leading popular dramatists, a fearless social critic, a supreme man of the theatre, and a humane and compassionate writer. The four plays in this volume present different facets of his prolific output, which focused on the lives of the Neapolitan people, their dubious cunning nourished by centuries of hunger, their fantasies and their love of life. The Local Authority, Grand Magic and Filumena Marturano are translated by Carlo Ardito, and Napoli Milionaria was translated by Peter Tinniswood for the Royal National Theatre's production in 1991.