David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Glengarry Glen Ross rages back on stage at Melbourne Theatre Company 30 years after it was written and first performed by MTC.
Explosive and enduring, Glengarry Glen Ross exposes the testosterone-fuelled, greedy ‘reality show’ of capitalism and big business that is as brutal today as it ever was. Written in 1983 during the severe global recession, it sits all too easily in today’s post-GFC, post-subprime mortgage world.
Real estate is a competitive game and these Chicago salesmen live to close the deal. They’ll do whatever it takes. But the market is drying up and the guys at Head Office are cutting back. So, this month a new twist has been added to the sales competition. First prize is a Cadillac, second prize is a set of steak knives, and third prize is … you’re fired.
Alkinos Tsilimidos, who directed 2012’s robust Red and last year’s enlightening Martin Luther King chronicle, The Mountaintop, changes gear to convey this dramatic portrayal of earning a buck in a ruthless game. Going head to head in the bear-pit of corporate capitalism is Alex Dimitriades, Steve Bisley and Greg Stone, who will be joined in this all-male cast including Rodeny Afif, Nick Barkla, Justin Stewart Cotta and Brett Cousins.
David Mamet won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. He is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director, and has written a number of iconic plays including Boston Marriage, American Buffalo, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Oleanna, Speed-the-Plow, and Edmond.
As a screenwriter, he wrote two classic satires – State and Main about Hollywood and Wag the Dog about politics – but his main body of work concentrates on the male worlds of hardboiled criminals, confidence men and cops with films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict and House of Games.
Melbourne-based director and filmmaker, Alkinos Tsilimidos is described as one of Australia’s most important contemporary film directors. His gritty, socially observant films include Everynight… Everynight, Silent Partner, and Em 4 Jay. His 2001 feature film TomWhite was released to critical acclaim, receiving thirty-one Australian film award nominations including Best Director and Best Film. In 2010 Alkinos released his fifth feature, Blind Company.
“Mamet’s study of competitive capitalism has scarcely dated in our frenziedly consumerist society.” – The Guardian
Director: Alkinos Tsilimidos Cast: Rodney Afif, Nick Barkla, Steve Bisley, Brett Cousins, Alex Dimitriades, Justin Stewart Cotta, Greg Stone Set Designer: Shaun Gurton Costume Designer: Jill Johanson Lighting Designer: Nigel Levings Composer & Sound Designer: Tristan Meredith Voice and Dialect Coach: Anna McCrossin-Owen
Glengarry Glen Ross
The Sumner – Southbank Theatre, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank (Melbourne)
Season: 5 July – 9 August 2014 (Opening Night – Thursday 10 July 2014)
Bookings: (03) 8688 0800 or online at: www.mtc.com.au
For more information, visit: www.mtc.com.au for details.
Image: Alex Dimitriades as Richard Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross