Playworthy?

Can the novel Slaughter House 5 be re-written as a play? The answer for me is very simple: NO. There are many good reasons why this novel will never adapt itself to become a play.

One of the main reasons is the confusing plot line. Usually, a play has a very easy to follow storyline, otherwise the viewer would have no idea what was going on. For example, the random time and place travel scenes would be impossible to capture in the format of a play. What the audience wants from a play is a concise and easy to follow storyline, and this book provides the exact opposite. Without a proper plot line, a play cannot exist.

Another major problem with this book adapted to a play is the obvious lack of character development. In a play, the audience would be interested in the development of a character. In Shakespeare's famous plays, there is always a great deal of events that occur which all goes to display what the character is really made of. In Slaughter House 5, there aren't really many of these situations. Also, there is very little character interaction in the novel. We don't see Billy interact and talk with others very often. This, along with the lack of character development would lead to a very boring play.

The last problem would be the lack of a good ending. The novel ends on a gruesome note of Billy shoveling corpses. This extreme lack of closure is definitely not acceptable in a play. At the end of the play, the audience would feel a sense of discomfort if it ended like such. If this novel would be adapted to fit a screenplay, a much better ending would be needed.

Although the novel Slaughter House 5 is an interesting read, it would not be adequate for adaptation for a play. There are many flaws with this novel that would absolutely cause ruin if a play was made from it.