The Art of Crime: The Plays and Film of Harold Pinter and David Mamet (Studies in Modern Drama)

This collection of 15 original essays, assembled by renowned Mamet and Pinter scholar Leslie Kane, examines the pervasiveness of crime and criminality in the plays and screenplays of two of the most influential contemporary dramatists. The contributors generally focus on one or more works by a single writer, while a few take a comparative approach. Often the works studied are lesser-known or infrequently discussed works, thereby making this volume a valuable addition to current scholarship. In addition, this volume complements other works on Mamet and Pinter on our backlist, including Kane's earlier edited volumes on Mamet which both received solid sales and accolades from Choice. Assembled by a Garland/Routledge author with a proven sales record and impressive critical reception, this collection should be an easy sell to academic and theater libraries, as well as Pinter and Mamet specialists. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 11 Works Cited......Page 20 1 A Poetics for Thugs......Page 21 Works Cited......Page 31 2 “You’ll Never Be without a Police Siren”: Pinter and the Subject of Law......Page 32 I......Page 35 II......Page 38 III......Page 40 Works Cited......Page 47 3 Harold Pinter’s “Before the Law”......Page 48 Works Cited......Page 57 4 Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes: The Criminality of Indifference and the Failure of Empathy......Page 59 Notes......Page 68 Works Cited......Page 69 5 Comedy and Crime: Pinter’s Primal Power......Page 71 I......Page 72 II......Page 74 III......Page 75 IV......Page 77 V......Page 79 Notes......Page 80 Works Cited......Page 81 6 Lost in the Funhouse: Spectacle and Crime in Pinter’s Screenplay of Kafka’s The Trial......Page 82 Notes......Page 90 Works Cited......Page 91 7 Lie Detectors: Pinter/Mamet and the Victorian Concept of Crime......Page 92 I......Page 93 A Short History of Nineteenth-Century Lying......Page 95 III......Page 100 Notes......Page 101 Works Cited......Page 102 8 Gradations of Criminality in the Plays of David Mamet......Page 104 Works Cited......Page 112 9 Melville’s The Confidence Man and His Descendants in David Mamet’s Work......Page 114 Works Cited......Page 119 10 Fantasy Crimes/Fictional Lives: Lakeboat......Page 120 Works Cited......Page 128 11 David Mamet’s House of Games and the Allegory of Performance......Page 129 Works Cited......Page 137 I......Page 138 II......Page 140 III......Page 142 IV......Page 144 Works Cited......Page 146 13 A Theater of the Self: Mamet’s The Edge as a Figura of Otherness......Page 148 Works Cited......Page 157 14 Suckered Again: The Perfect Patsy and The Spanish Prisoner......Page 158 Works Cited......Page 166 Contributors......Page 168 Index......Page 170