Jane McGowan enjoys Glengarry, Glenross - a fast-paced, foul-mouthed drama for our times...
OUR VERDICT
Anyone with a nervous disposition or sensitive to the odd four-letter word (or 500) should probably avoid David Mamet’s acerbic, hard-hitting drama Glengarry Glen Ross, which runs at Richmond Theatre this week.
The short, sharp, satire comes in at under two hours (and that’s with an interval), yet it more than perfectly captures the cut-throat world of the Chicago salesmen whose only life goal is to sell, sell, sell.
Written in 1985, the multi-award-winning play follows the fortunes of four real estate salesmen and their office manager as they jostle for position within the company, lurching from euphoria to despair as sales come and then slip away. All that matters is the ‘closing’ of the deal and some will rest at nothing to get the sale.
The play opens with Shelley Levene, magnificently played by Mark Benton, a man whose best selling days are well behind him, and who is willing to practically sell his soul in order to make a decent commission. Benton veers from affable to accusatory as he begs invidious office manager Williamson (Scott Sparrow) for just a couple of decent client ‘leads’ to help him make a bit of cash, his tragedy palpable as he recalls his glory days as the firm’s former big noise.
We then meet Dave Moss, disillusioned, desperate and willing to turn to crime to make a quick buck. Moss is played with great ferocity by Denis Conway and his verbal gymnastics fall like blows on the audience and his hapless co-worker George Aaronow, who is left reeling as he realises he has been made a partner in a crime he doesn’t want to commit.
Finally, Ricky Roma appears – the youngest of the salesmen, the slickest, the smartest and as he makes no apologies for, the best. We meet him as he is working his magic on an unassuming husband, who may live to regret the meeting.
Nigel Harman as the overbearing Roma is a delight, bringing a warmth and a vast amount of charisma to a role that in lesser hands could descend into a mere shouty caricature.
The set by designer Chiara Stephenson should also be applauded: a tired Chinese restaurant making way for a dingy office, which again reflects the tawdry, desperation of these middle-aged men.
Under Sam Yates tight direction, this production has lost none of its original intensity and while a Monday night audience in Richmond (who were mostly of a certain age) may not have been quite ready for the verbal onslaught, I would certainly recommend going a few rounds with Ricky et al.
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