cantordustbunnies 's review for:

Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet

4.0

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Mamet peals off the veneer of business suits to reveal the primate within who is trying to outcompete and survive in this play which is a pretty brutal caricature of capitalism. There is also an undercurrent of pessimism about human nature itself. The play has great timing and effective plot twists which don't feel forced or ostentatious and the dialogue would come across as being quite organic on stage. I did think it was a bit short and simplistic however. While I enjoyed how Mamet covered the broad range of conniving, psychopathic social strategies utilized by the characters I wasn't sold on his criticism that capitalism (perhaps "the patriarchy" as well) is responsible for making them behave this way. Even in the 80's the criticism that America is a place where people needlessly and cruelly lie, cheat, and steal all in the name of acquiring more things that nobody actually needs anyway and are probably scams as it is wasn't exactly an original or fresh idea. While there's certainly truth to this I do get tired of American playwrights and authors castigating their country's economic system (which clearly has its faults) while seemingly failing to acknowledge that they are able to make a living creating stories because of the systems they condemn. It's ironically such a classically American trait to focus on America's issues in such a negative light. Anyway it is a very good play about the nastiness of business, of greed, and about how people act when they cease treating each other as human beings.