Contemporary Dramatists
3 total works
Duck Variations: "A brilliant little play...about two old men sitting on a park bench discussing ducks" (Guardian); Sexual Perversity in Chicago, bar-room banter and sexual exploits in Mamet's home town "sweet sad understanding and utterly believable" (Chicago Daily News); Squirrels is a sequence of philosophising between a younger writer, an older writer and a cleaning lady which "memorably captures the agony of the creative process" (Daily Telegraph); American Buffalo, one of Mamet's most famous plays, is set in a junk shop where Three small-time crooks plot to carry out the midnight robbery of a coin collection - in the hours leading up to the heist, friendship becomes the victim in a conflict between loyalty and business. The Water Engine is "a propulsive, kaleidoscopic nightmare" and Mr Happiness is a short ironic monologue by a Radio DJ commenting on the letters from his listeners.
Race
Sparks fly when three lawyers - two black and one white - and a defendant clash over the issue of race and the American judicial system. Drawing on one of the most highly charged issues of American history, David Mamet forces us to confront deep-seated prejudices and barely healed wounds in this unflinching examination of the lies we tell ourselves and the truths we unwillingly reveal to others.
November
It's November in a Presidential election year and incumbent Charles Smith's chances for re-election are looking unlikely. Approval ratings are down, his money's running out, and nuclear war might be imminent. But Chuck isn't ready to give up just yet. November is a hilarious take on the state of contemporary America.
The Anarchist
Cathy is a woman who has served 35 years of a life sentence for killing a policeman in a botched robbery. Her prison officer Ann must decide whether or not to grant her parole. Mamet once again employs his signature verbal jousting in this battle of two women over freedom, power, money, and religion.
Sparks fly when three lawyers - two black and one white - and a defendant clash over the issue of race and the American judicial system. Drawing on one of the most highly charged issues of American history, David Mamet forces us to confront deep-seated prejudices and barely healed wounds in this unflinching examination of the lies we tell ourselves and the truths we unwillingly reveal to others.
November
It's November in a Presidential election year and incumbent Charles Smith's chances for re-election are looking unlikely. Approval ratings are down, his money's running out, and nuclear war might be imminent. But Chuck isn't ready to give up just yet. November is a hilarious take on the state of contemporary America.
The Anarchist
Cathy is a woman who has served 35 years of a life sentence for killing a policeman in a botched robbery. Her prison officer Ann must decide whether or not to grant her parole. Mamet once again employs his signature verbal jousting in this battle of two women over freedom, power, money, and religion.
A collection of outstanding plays from one of America's greatest playwrights
Boston Marriage
David Mamet conquers new territory with this droll comedy of errors set in a Victorian drawing-room. Anna and Claire are two bantering, scheming ladies of fashion who have long lived together on the fringes of upper-class society. Anna has just become the mistress of a wealthy man, from whom she has received an enormous emerald and an income to match. Claire, meanwhile, is infatuated with a respectable young lady and wants to enlist the jealous Anna's help for an assignation.
"Devastatingly funny . . . exceptionally clever" New York Times
"Brilliant . . . One of Mamet's most satisfying and accomplished plays, and one of the funniest American comedies in years" New York Post
Faustus
A modern retelling of the classic tale of pride, folly and the ultimate wager. Faustus has it all - fame, success, a loving family. But a careless pact with a beguiling magician threatens everything. In language, scope and theatrical sensibility, Faustus represents a big departure for Mamet, melding resplendent language and metaphysics in an eerie and moving retelling of the tragedy of Doctor Faustus.
Romance
Wildly humorous and often gob-smackingly outrageous, Romance is an uproarious courtroom farce, which lampoons the American judicial system and exposes the hypocrisy surrounding personal prejudices and political correctness.
"An exhilarating spectacle" New Yorker
"It made me weep with delight. . . . Romance is funny. Extremely funny." Wall Street Journal
Boston Marriage
David Mamet conquers new territory with this droll comedy of errors set in a Victorian drawing-room. Anna and Claire are two bantering, scheming ladies of fashion who have long lived together on the fringes of upper-class society. Anna has just become the mistress of a wealthy man, from whom she has received an enormous emerald and an income to match. Claire, meanwhile, is infatuated with a respectable young lady and wants to enlist the jealous Anna's help for an assignation.
"Devastatingly funny . . . exceptionally clever" New York Times
"Brilliant . . . One of Mamet's most satisfying and accomplished plays, and one of the funniest American comedies in years" New York Post
Faustus
A modern retelling of the classic tale of pride, folly and the ultimate wager. Faustus has it all - fame, success, a loving family. But a careless pact with a beguiling magician threatens everything. In language, scope and theatrical sensibility, Faustus represents a big departure for Mamet, melding resplendent language and metaphysics in an eerie and moving retelling of the tragedy of Doctor Faustus.
Romance
Wildly humorous and often gob-smackingly outrageous, Romance is an uproarious courtroom farce, which lampoons the American judicial system and exposes the hypocrisy surrounding personal prejudices and political correctness.
"An exhilarating spectacle" New Yorker
"It made me weep with delight. . . . Romance is funny. Extremely funny." Wall Street Journal