Theather: Sexual Perversity in Chicago

Author: David Mamet
Original title: Sexual Perversity in Chicago
Theatrical title: Sexuální perverze v Chicagu
Language: Czech 
Director: Ondřej Sokol
Genres: Comedy
Time: 120m
Cast: Jaromír Dulava, Ivana Chýlková, Marek Taclík, Lucie Pernetová
Premiere: 18.03.2004
Theater:  Činoherní klub, Prague 

Summary:
     The award-winning Sexual Perversity in Chicago is about two male office workers, Danny and Bernie of the early 1970's. Danny meets Deborah in a library and soon they are not only lovers but roommates, and their story quickly evolves into a modern romance in all its sticky details.

About the author: 

     David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and film director. As a playwright, Mamet has won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). Mamet first gained acclaim for a trio of off-Broadway plays in 1976, The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo. 

About the play: 

      Deborah and Dan are in love and are moving in together.  They spend with their best friend less and less time. They are so taken by their fondness that they pay no attention to Joan and Bernard's idle talks. Joan and Bernard are unpleasantly surprised by this change and wish everything came back to usual. After some time Deb and Dan's life together is shipwrecked due to small quarrels, misunderstandings and offenses. 

My thoughts: 

     This is the second time I saw the play, and again I found it as hilarious as dramatic. Mostly due to funny dialogues (50% with strong language), actors' performance and absurdity of situations you cannot stop laughing during the play, but among this laughter a drama of young couple comes through. People who are deeply in love are not able to cope with day-to-day life together. I believe this inability is connected with the environment they live in: constant idle talks about sexual achievement and variety build up unachievable expectation, which shadows the real life and real personalities, make them dull and unattractive. On the whole I love the play, even though it leaves a sad note afterwards.