Drama / 5m Four men conspire to defeat a despised opponent by a
ruthless act of violence: they will fire a missile into a crowded
conference room on the day of an important meeting. Maxwell, a hero
of the old guard, volunteers to sacrifice himself for the plan.
Then Maxwell meets Fletcher, an idealist with a Compromise Proposal
designed to resolve all conflicts. Maxwell regards the Compromise
as hopeless, but he develops a liking for Fletcher - a distressing
fact when Maxwell learns that, if the conspiracy proceeds, young
Fletcher will be among the dead. As the scheme spins wildly into
complication, the plotters descend into suspicion, bloodlust and
raucous infighting, while Fletcher is drawn, inexorably, into the
lion's den. Jason Wells isn't giving everything away in his
captivating new play Men of Tortuga. In addressing some serious
contemporary issues, he creates a scenario where the audience has
only a rough idea of what's going on. And that's just about the way
it should be. In a crackling world premiere at the Asolo Repertory
Theater, Wells tells a story of corporate greed, power,
surveillance and the secrecy that increasingly pervades our daily
lives. Wells and the Asolo cast grab the audience from the
start...The play pulses with energy... -Variety Calling all
corporate conspiracy theorists: Jason Wells has written a play
confirming everything you've ever wanted to believe about what goes
on behind the frosted windows and code-locked doors of America's
executive suites...ripping, blacker-than-black satire...Wells'
work, though almost blank in details, carefully exposes the
barbarism encoded in corporate bureaucracy. With a grand sense of
humor about misinterpreted metaphors and think-tank buzz language -
'he eats our bread' refers to someone you can trust - Tortuga gives
us absurd savages in suits, drinking good bourbon and plotting
destruction... Eat their bread. - Time Out Chicago Consider an
interlude in Jason Wells' Men of Tortuga, a tale of global
politics, male power games and moral ambiguity that is in many ways
the Steppenwolf First Look] festival's most dazzling and
provocative play...When, the actors] put the final beat on a
particularly brilliant scene, there was no stopping the burst of
applause. Not only did this crackling exchange work on a slew of
levels at once - with matters of ethics, careermaking,
legacymaking, ego-massaging, cutthroat cross-generation competition
and hints of father-son tensions all being juggled, but the actors
attacked the material as if they were playing virtuoso dueling
violins. The rhythms, the emotional shadings, the teasing tones,
the mix of respect and defensiveness were all so superbly
calibrated that they generated a sensation of sheer
giddiness....Wells' play happens to be a shrewd piece of
gamesmanship that blends a bit of Mamet and his corrosive comedy
with a touch of Kafka and Joseph Conrad, plus a splash of high
entertainment. It's tailor-made for the age of terrorism,
assassination, and corrupt global organizations...with writing and
acting this smart and this sharp, it never fails to hit its
target....hard-driving, blackly comic, relentlessly macho... A]
100-minute head game filled with vacuum-packed scenes...Wells has
crafted a taut, cleverly orchestrated piece about power, personal
psychosis, game-playing, morality and the terror of failure...a
sharp parable for our time. -Chicago Sun-Times
General
Imprint: |
Samuel French
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
March 2009 |
First published: |
March 2009 |
Authors: |
Jason Wells
|
Dimensions: |
203 x 127 x 4mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
84 |
Edition: |
Samuel French a ed. |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-573-69648-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Language & Literature >
Literature: texts >
Drama texts, plays >
General
|
LSN: |
0-573-69648-9 |
Barcode: |
9780573696480 |
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