Product Description

What makes good drama? And why does drama matter in an age that is awash in information and entertainment? With bracing directness and aphoristic grace, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Glengarry Glen Ross delivers a thrillingly original treatiseon his art.

To David Mamet, human beings are drama-creating animals who impose narrative structures on everything from today's weather to next year's elections. Mamet distinguishes true drama from its false variants, unravels the infamous "Second-Act Problem," amd considers the mysterious persistence of the soliloquy. Three Usesof the Knife is an inspired guide for any playwright or theatergoer that doubles as a trenchant work of moral and aestheticphilosophy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134394 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Amateur Stage, June 2007
'Self-assured and filled with autobiographical touches "Three Uses
of the Knife" is a call to art and arms, a manifesto that, as his editors
point out, reminds us that the singular power of the theatre is to keep us
sane, whole and human... If you don't know his work, you have a surprise
treat in store. I cannot commend highly enough this analysis of the cancers
that he sees beleaguering the work of so many dramatists. Thank you Methuen
for making this possible and all for a penny less than £10!'

Synopsis
A paperback edition of award-winning dramatist David Mamet's acclaimed collection of theatre essays.Renowned playwright, screenwriter, poet and essayist David Mamet explains the necessity, purpose and demands of drama. A celebration of the ties that bind art to life, Three Uses of the Knifewill enthral anyone who has sat anxiously waiting for the lights to goup on Act 1. In three tightly woven essays of characteristic force andresonance, Mamet speaks about the connection of art to life, language to power, imagination to survival, public spectacle to private script. Self-assured and filled with autobiographical touches Three Uses of the Knife is a call to art and arms, a manifesto that reminds us of the singular power of the theatre to keep us sane, whole and human.'Mamet's writing is tight, spare, and as accurate and ruthless as a scalpel' Sunday Times

Customer Reviews

An incisive testament on behalf of drama
This offering from the blistering pen of David Mamet is a master document which brilliantly isolates and identifies both the need for, and the inner workings of, dramatic theatre. Actors, writers, directors, anyone in fact who carries a love of live drama (and most especially the Theatre) will find their work and/or understanding of such work deepened and enriched by this incisive unravelling of both why and how drama operates. Those who already hold an appreciation of Mamet's work will most certainly not be dissapointed. Writing in his trademark fashion of driving passion coupled with intellectual athleticism, the Pulitzer prizewinner presents clear, reasoned instruction for the aspiring dramatist - indeed, after reading this book one feels like a potential Chekhov! - and for the unconverted, resistant or uninformed he offers a passionate dialogue on the need of humankind for drama (and vice-versa), why it endures, and what purpose it serves. This is pure Mamet on fiery, driving, gutsy form. don't miss!

Informative & Entertaining
In a short, easy-to-read book, Mamet reveals, as the title suggests, "the nature and purpose of drama."