David Mamet and Male Friendship Buddy Plays and Buddy Films [Hardcover]

Using insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, and the history of sexuality, Holmberg explores the ambiguity that drives male bonding. Personal interviews with Mamet and with the actors who have interpreted his major roles shed light on how and why men bond with each other and complement close analysis of Mamet's texts.1. Buddy Plays and Buddy Films: Speed-the-Plow 2. Buddy Cops: Homicide 3. Honor Among Thieves? American Buffalo 4. The Cycle of Friendship: A Life in the Theater 5. How to Sell Real Estate: Glengarry Glen Ross 6. Friends Without Benefits: Sexual Perversity in Chicago 7. Is It Legal? The Male Romance 8. The Dialog of Life: Duck Variations 9. Climbing Plato's Ladder: Edmond

In this study of male relationships in David Mamet's plays by our leading Mamet scholar, Arthur Holmberg has found a fascinating new entrance into the multi-levelled mind of a master dramatist. Some may reject Holmberg's controversial thesis; others will embrace it. Few will be able to ignore it. - Robert Brustein, author of The Tainted Muse and a trilogy of plays about Shakespeare (The English Channel, Mortal Terror, and The Last Will), and founder of the American Repertory and Yale Repertory Theatres

Arthur Holmberg is Professor of Theatre Arts at Brandeis University, USA.