Post Gazette: Behind the closed doors of a law office, four people confront the issues of race, gender and class in a raw dialogue, punctuated with words never heard in polite company, that could only be by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet. The law firm partners, one black, one white, are deciding whether to take the case of a wealthy white man accused of raping an African-American woman.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
PICT plays the 'Race' card with Mamet drama
Post Gazette: Behind the closed doors of a law office, four people confront the issues of race, gender and class in a raw dialogue, punctuated with words never heard in polite company, that could only be by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet. The law firm partners, one black, one white, are deciding whether to take the case of a wealthy white man accused of raping an African-American woman.
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5 comments:
Mamet opens so many doors of conversation that would remain closed without the sanction of theatre to support them. Issues like race, sex, and gender are generally avoided by all. It is playwrights like Mamet that open these topics for intelligent conversation, which hopefully will not lead to arguments like most do. If Mamet's track record of play writing is anything to go off of, "Race" will not cease to amaze.
Race sounds like an incredibly interesting play. I agree with Sam that issues such as the ones brought up in Race are ones we don't hear about too often in passing. Rent appears to be a unique and thought-provoking play that I would be interested in seeing.
Mamet's pieces have the strange ability to both acknowledge the tension around very highly charged issues, but also to open up the topics for freer and franker conversation. He presents no solutions nor really picks a side a lot of the time - he leaves the door open for audience members to be shocked, then inspired, then start the conversations. I'm excited to see Race next month and drag some people along as well (the ones who'll be willing to argue afterward!).
I am really looking forward to seeing "Race." I read it a few months ago and it truly is an amazing work. Race relations is something that needs to be an ongoing discussion, because if we just assume that no one is racist anymore and we are all perfect when it comes to race relations, we will not grow as a society. Mamet's play opens up the floor for discussion. It is a work that gets people thinking. This play may anger and offend some, but I think that many of the great works out there do just that. So much theatre now-a-days is so politically correct that it's boring. Mamet is not afraid to talk about important issues that no one wants to talk about, and this is a great service to those of us who want these sorts of topics to still be discussed and thought about.
I think it's great that PICT is doing work that is sure to stir up conversations about race, gender, and class relations. People are often focused on being politically correct, but if you spend a couple hours listening to actors have these discussions first, it is more likely to make people more comfortable to have those conversations in real life. There is also not always a "right answer" when discussing these issues, and so it is important for everyone to feel able to voice his or her unique view.
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