GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

BY DAVID MAMET

16 MARCH – 10 APRIL 2021

“I’m selling something they don’t even want.”

Lies. Greed. Corruption. It’s business as usual in the cut-throat world of real estate sales.

This pack of wolves will do anything to score the prime ‘leads’. They’re grinding out a living pushing plots of land onto reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream.

From lies to flattery, to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary: as their desperation reaches fever-pitch they will engage in unethical, even illegal, behaviour if it’ll snag them a sale and that all-important commission.

The mantra is simple: Close the deal and you’ve won a Cadillac; blow the lead and you’re f****d.

David Mamet’s lacerating satire won the 1983 Olivier Award for Best Play and the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was later adapted by the playwright into a film starring Jack Lemmon and Al Pacino.

Originally written for an all-male cast, this production will blur the gender lines to reveal startling and unexpected insights into Mamet’s depiction of blunt, brutal, toxic masculinity. As relevant now as it was three decades ago, this brilliant, scathing comedy, infused with humanity and honesty, will provoke both laughter and chills in anyone who’s ever questioned unbridled capitalism. Never forget: Trump started out in real-estate!

“David Mamet is the most unsparing eviscerator of the American Dream since Arthur Miller.” The Telegraph, UK

Creative team

Director Louise Fischer
Set Designer Tom Bannerman
Lighting Designer Michael Schell
Costume Designer Claudia Lafoy
Sound Designer Glenn Braithwait
Dialect & Vocal Coach Benjamin Purser
Production Manager Rosane McNamara
Stage Manager Douglas Cairns
Operators Ole Borch, Ricci Costa

cast

Adrian Adam, Ben Brock
Oliver Burton, Mark Langham
Caroline Levien, Hannah Raven
Meg Shooter, Andrew Simpson

dates & times

Preview: Tue 16 March 7:30pm
Press Night/Opening Night Wed 17 March 7:30pm
Thursday – Saturday 7:30pm
Sunday 5pm
Final performance Saturday 10 April 2pm
No performance Good Friday, 2 April

Running time 90 minutes, no interval

tickets

Full: $35
Concessions, Groups (6+): $30
New Theatre Members: $22
Thrifty Thursdays: $22
Preview: $20

BOOK TICKETS

Please note: New Theatre is a general admission theatre and seat selection is done on a first-come-first-serve basis. As per NSW Public Health COVID-19 guidelines, we now running at 75% capacity (112 patrons). Where possible, we will endeavour to socially distance audience members and groups one seat apart, however with fuller houses, you may need to sit next to others. Face masks are not mandatory but strongly recommended. If you have any concerns, please contact our Theatre Manager manager@newtheatre.org.au

★★★★ “A talented ensemble with strong performances…The decision to switch from a traditional all-male cast to mixing up genders and include women playing male characters worked to further shine a spotlight on the toxic masculinity that is (deliberately) rife in Mamet’s script…A frenzied, fabulous (and funny!) 90 minutes.” State of the Art

“The subject is toxic masculinity [and] Mamet’s play is bitingly relevant today…Good ensemble work with all members of the cast working together on behalf of the play…Well worth a visit” Sydney Arts Guide

“Our appetite for depictions of toxic men and the workplaces they poison is coming close to being sated by real world examples. But Mamet’s play remains gripping theatre and it’s robustly staged here…Director Louise Fischer has cast the piece well, bringing three women into what is usually an all-male affair…The staging is clever, too, with Tom Bannerman’s set design exploding the floor into different levels, adding to the sense of shifting power plays.” Audrey Journal

“The original play by Mamet had an all-male cast. Adapting a few characters to female lent a refreshing authenticity, bringing the play into 2021…New Theatre continues to bring interesting popular writing to stage” Rasa Art

“Tom Bannerman’s set design is the epitome of economy and grace, effortlessly transforming from Chinese restaurant to trashed real estate office augmented by Michael Schell’s impressive lighting. True to Mamet’s writing, director Louise Fisher never replaces the firm reins of realism with the loose bit of rhetoric.” Australian Stage Online