This collection of 15 original essays, assembled by renowned Mamet and Pinter scholar Leslie Kane, examines the pervasiveness of crime and criminality in the plays and screenplays of two of the most influential contemporary dramatists. The contributors generally focus on one or more works by a single writer, while a few take a comparative approach. Often the works studied are lesser-known or infrequently discussed works, thereby making this volume a valuable addition to current scholarship. In addition, this volume complements other works on Mamet and Pinter on our backlist, including Kane's earlier edited volumes on Mamet which both received solid sales and accolades from Choice. Assembled by a Garland/Routledge author with a proven sales record and impressive critical reception, this collection should be an easy sell to academic and theater libraries, as well as Pinter and Mamet specialists.
Author(s): Leslie Kane
Series: Studies in Modern Drama
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2004
Language: English
Commentary: 48600
Pages: 174
Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 10
Introduction......Page 11
Works Cited......Page 20
1 A Poetics for Thugs......Page 21
Works Cited......Page 31
2 “You’ll Never Be without a Police Siren”: Pinter and the Subject of Law......Page 32
I......Page 35
II......Page 38
III......Page 40
Works Cited......Page 47
3 Harold Pinter’s “Before the Law”......Page 48
Works Cited......Page 57
4 Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes: The Criminality of Indifference and the Failure of Empathy......Page 59
Notes......Page 68
Works Cited......Page 69
5 Comedy and Crime: Pinter’s Primal Power......Page 71
I......Page 72
II......Page 74
III......Page 75
IV......Page 77
V......Page 79
Notes......Page 80
Works Cited......Page 81
6 Lost in the Funhouse: Spectacle and Crime in Pinter’s Screenplay of Kafka’s The Trial......Page 82
Notes......Page 90
Works Cited......Page 91
7 Lie Detectors: Pinter/Mamet and the Victorian Concept of Crime......Page 92
I......Page 93
A Short History of Nineteenth-Century Lying......Page 95
III......Page 100
Notes......Page 101
Works Cited......Page 102
8 Gradations of Criminality in the Plays of David Mamet......Page 104
Works Cited......Page 112
9 Melville’s The Confidence Man and His Descendants in David Mamet’s Work......Page 114
Works Cited......Page 119
10 Fantasy Crimes/Fictional Lives: Lakeboat......Page 120
Works Cited......Page 128
11 David Mamet’s House of Games and the Allegory of Performance......Page 129
Works Cited......Page 137
I......Page 138
II......Page 140
III......Page 142
IV......Page 144
Works Cited......Page 146
13 A Theater of the Self: Mamet’s The Edge as a Figura of Otherness......Page 148
Works Cited......Page 157
14 Suckered Again: The Perfect Patsy and The Spanish Prisoner......Page 158
Works Cited......Page 166
Contributors......Page 168
Index......Page 170
