American Buffalo at Brisbane Powerhouse

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Tue 25 Oct 2016 - Sat 29 Oct 2016

Loyalty, friendship, business partnerships and the power of money lay the foundation for "American Buffalo" which makes its debut at Brisbane's Powerhouse next week. Written in 1975 by American playwright David Mamet, it was the winner of the Obie Award, Best New Play and Performance, while the 1977 production won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best American Play. It has been produced a number of times since, spending time on Broadway and London's West End, to critical acclaim.

Don, the owner of a run-down junk shop, suspects he has been conned by a coin collector of the true value of a rare buffalo nickel. Together with his mate Bobby, they plan a heist to retrieve the coin. Their scheme is overheard by a small time crook Teach, who attempts to manipulate his way into the scheme, trying to cut Bobby out of the score.

David Mamet's has been nominated for Oscars for his works "The Verdict" and "Wag the Dog". "American Buffalo" poses questions on the price of success and the role of loyalty and friendship in business.Critic Frank Rich, in reviewing the 1983 production for The New York Times called it "one of the best American plays of the last decade."

The setting, in small time crime culture, lends itself to colourful language. The script was described by Rich as "Working with the tiniest imaginable vocabulary - words like nothing, great, and no, as well as those of four letters - Mr. Mamet creates a subterranean world with its own nonliterate comic beat, life-and death struggles, pathos and even affection... In American Buffalo, he has created a deceptively small-scale tragedy that is packed with the power to explode the largest of American myths."



It is now the turn of Brisbane audiences to judge for themselves whether this work is truly a classic. Keiran Brice will direct the play, with Ruby Newport as producer. The set design is by Georgia Greenhill and Shane Kumar is the Stage Manager. The role of Walter "Teach" Cole will be played by Derek Draper, with Ron Kelly as Donny and Jackson McGovern as Bobby.

The show will run from Tuesday to Saturday at the Visy Theatre in the Powerhouse at 7pm. There will be an additional matinee show on Saturday at 2pm. Tickets are $39 and it is recommended to be suitable for ages 15 . To book tickets, visit the Website .

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!date 25/10/2016 -- 29/10/2016
%wnbrisbane