Mamet Plays: 5 - Boston Marriage; Dr Faustus; Romance (Electronic book text)

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