Book picks similar to
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Extremities
William Mastrosimone - 1998
The tables turn when Marjorie is able to subdue Raul and keep him tied up in her fireplace. When Terry and Patricia, Marjorie's roommates, come home, they are shocked and begin discussing how to handle the situation: call the police or take matters into their own hands?
Bull
Mike Bartlett - 2013
Three candidates. This would be a really bad time to have a stain on your shirt...A savage, acid-tongued new play by Mike Bartlett, one of the UK's most exciting and inventive young writers, and the author of the off-Broadway smash hit Cock. Razor sharp and blackly comic, Bull is a savage and insightful play about office politics or playground bullying, depending which side you're on. Genuinely thrilling, daring and inventive, acclaimed playwright Bartlett probes the dark side of the modern workplace.Bull enjoyed its US premiere in spring 2013 at 59E59 Theaters's "Brits Off-Broadway" festival.
Acid Alex
Al Lovejoy - 2005
It veers between abject mistreatment, religious hysteria and narcotic intoxication, while journeying deep into the violent underworld of Cape Town gangs and international organized crime, then behind the cold bars of prison and out the other side. Much more than the story of an alternate and differently lived life, every person who wants to fully grasp the complexities and richness of South Africa's social architecture should read this book. Hailed as a great book of reference, not only invaluable for checking facts and culture, but also for feeling the pureness of South Africa's socio-emotional pulse. A unique story told in a unique voice. Acid Alex will shock you, assault, educate and entertain you, and take you on a trip beyond your wildest imagining. A compelling, totally gripping page-turner and a story that reaches deep into ... and, touches the soul."
The 39 Steps
Patrick Barlow - 2009
Taking place only months before the outbreak of World War One (and written during the conflict) it focuses on Hannay’s attempts to warn the government of an unfolding plot to steal Great Britain’s military plans. Throughout the book Hannay must escape from German spies and the British police, who falsely believe that he has murdered the very man who revealed the plot to him. The book would prove incredibly popular upon its release and has been cited as the first “man-on-the-run” style story which has been re-used in films in literature ever since. The novel itself has been adapted for the screen no less than four times.
Almost an Evening
Ethan Coen - 2009
Now, one half of the duo, Ethan Coen, adds playwriting to his eclectic bio. In these three short plays that ran to sold-out audiences Off-Broadway in 2008, the theme is hell–both on earth and in the hereafter.In “Waiting,” a man faces an uncertain future in an uncertain location that seems to be some kind of waiting room. The anxiety and despair hark back to dramas of the fifties–Sartre, Beckett, Pinter.“Four Benches” depicts an unlikely meeting in a steam room between a straight-talking Texan and an uptight Brit. Both men learn from the encounter, though only one survives it.In “Debate,” the cantankerous god of the Old Testament roundly abuses the mealymouthed god of the New. His profanity and ill humor receive a startling comeuppance, and further reversals and changes of point of view lead to a denouement that is no more preposterous than anything else in the play.Clever, provocative, and as engaging as the best fiction, these plays showcase yet another talent of one of our most celebrated contemporary writers.
The Spoils: A Play
Jesse Eisenberg - 2015
Eisenberg will star in the New York production of The Spoils in the Spring of 2015, directed by Scott Elliott for the New Group’s inaugural season at the Pershing Square Signature Center.Nobody likes Ben. Ben doesn't even like Ben. He’s been kicked out of grad school, lives off his parents’ money, and bullies everyone in his life, including his roommate, an earnest Nepalese immigrant. When Ben discovers that his grade school crush is marrying a straight-laced banker, he sets out to destroy their relationship and win her back. The Spoils is a deeply personal and probing comedy written by one of America’s most interesting writer-thespians.
33 Variations
Moisés Kaufman - 2011
A composer coming to terms with his genius. And, even though they're separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still. Drama, memory and music combine to transport you from present-day New York to nineteenth-century Austria in this extraordinary American play about passion, parenthood and the moments of beauty that can transform a life.
This House
James Graham - 2012
We have History as our guide. In tough times, the British do what we have always done. We muddle through.This House is a timely and relevant political comedy, exploring Westminster and the 1974 hung parliament.In the run-up to the General Election pressure mounts as squabbling whips attempt to attract key regional votes. As it becomes clear the results will be closely balanced, the play tracks the formation, perils and consequences of a coalition government, including the compromises, conflicts and power games all in the interest of gaining control of Parliament.With well-paced, witty and waspish dialogue, This House playfully explores the childish digs and chauvinistic attitudes that riddle political life. Award-winning playwright James Graham combines comedy with comment in this portrayal of the strain between the thinking individual, the pressure to toe the part line and the end goal of winning government.
Romance
David Mamet - 2005
He listens to the testimony of a Jewish chiropractor, who’s a liar, according to his anti-Semitic defense attorney. The prosecutor, a homosexual, is having a domestic squabble with his lover, who shows up in court in a leopard-print thong. And all the while, a Middle East peace conference is taking place. Masterfully wielding the argot of the courtroom, David Mamet creates a world in microcosm in which shameless fawning, petty prejudices, and sheer caprice hold sway, and the noble apparatus of law and order degenerates into riotous profanity.
The Women of Lockerbie (Acting Edition)
Deborah Brevoort - 2005
She meets the women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane s wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim s families. THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE is loosely inspired by a true story, although the characters and situations in the play are purely fictional. Written in the structure of a Greek tragedy, it is a poetic drama about the triumph of love over hate. Winner of the silver medal in the Onassis International Playwriting Competition and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays award.
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot/Endgame: A reader's guide to essential criticism
Peter Boxall - 2000
The guide presents the major debates that surround these works as they develop, from Martin Esslin's early appropriation of the plays as examples of the Theatre of the Absurd, to recent poststructuralist and postcolonial readings by critics such as Steven Connor, Mary Bryden and Declan Kiberd. Throughout, Boxall clarifies and contextualizes critical responses to the plays, and considers the difficult relationship between Beckett and his critics.
Coram Boy: The Play
Helen Edmundson - 2007
Winner of the Time Out Live Award for Best Play In 18th-century Gloucestershire, the evil Otis Gardner preys on unmarried mothers, promising to take their babies (and their money) to Thomas Coram's hospital for foundling children. Instead, he buries the babies and pockets the loot. But Otis's downfall is set in train when his half-witted son Meshak falls in love with a young girl, Melissa, and rescues the unwanted son she has had with a disgraced aristocrat. The child is brought up in Coram's hospital, and proves to have inherited the startling musical gifts of his father - gifts that ultimately bring about his father's redemption and a heartbreaking family reunion. 'a rich and almost Gothic drama' - Philip Pullman 'a triumph... can still make your heart soar' - The Times 'the story has a gripping intensity... there is a tremendous sense of momentum' - Independent 'Family shows don't come much more harrowing than this - but nor do they come any finer... as gripping, terrifying, beautiful and moving as anything you will see in the theatre this year... Helen Edmundson's adaptation does full justice to the dark power of the original, while also transforming it into a thrilling piece of theatre' - Daily Telegraph 'a highly superior show that should appeal to adults and children alike' - Guardian
Hand to God: A New American Play
Robert Askins - 2017
But when the young members of the Christian Puppet Ministry put those teachings into practice, one devout young man's puppet takes on a shocking personality that no one could have expected. In this hilarious black comedy, a foul-mouthed sock puppet named Tyrone soon teaches those around him that the urges that can drive a person to give in to their darkest desires fit like a glove. In Hand to God, a "true tour de force" (New York Times), Robert Askins has written a play of "unerring perfection" (Huffington Post). The must-see hit of the 2015 Broadway season, starring Steven Boyer and Geneva Carr, garnered an Obie Award and five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, following its sold out, critically acclaimed off-Broadway runs at MCC Theater and Ensemble Studio Theatre.
God's Ear: A Play
Jenny Schwartz - 2008
Through the skillfully disarming use of clichéd language and homilies, the play explores with subtle grace and depth the way the death of a child tears one family apart, while showcasing the talents of a promising young playwright who "in [a] very modern way [is] making a rather old-fashioned case for the power of the written word" (Jason Zinoman, The New York Times).Fresh from its critically acclaimed off-off-Broadway run this past spring, God's Ear moves off-Broadway to the Vineyard Theatre in April 2008.