Edmond: A Play

by David Mamet

A fortune-teller's teasing rumination sends Edmond lurching into New York City's hellish underworld, his whole life abandoned in a searing quest for self-discovery and redemption.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction

106 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

David Alan Mamet is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity.

As a playwright, he received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997).

Mamet's recent books include The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a Torah commentary, with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; and Bambi vs. Godzilla, an acerbic commentary on the movie business.

Reviews

[Zi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edmond: Yes. Alright...I'm going.
Wife: Will you bring me back some cigarettes...
Edmond: I'm not coming back.
Wife: What?
Edmond: I'm not coming back. (Pause)
wife: What do you mean?
Edmond: I'm going, and I'm not going to come back. (Pause)
Wife: You're not ever coming back?
Edmond: No.
Wife: Why not? (Pause)
Edmond: I don't want to live this kind of life.
Wife: What does that mean?
Edmond: That I can't live this life.
Wife:"You can't live this life" so you're leaving me.
Edmond: Yes.
Wife: Ah. Ah. Ah.
And what about me?
Don't you love me anymore?
Edmond: No.
Wife: You don't.
Edmond: No.
Wife: And why is that?
Edmond: I don't know.
Wife: And when did you find this out?
Edmond: A long time ago.

[?0?0?0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Mamet does Paul Schrader!

[Jason Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devoid of likable characters, yet impossible to stop reading. I’m guessing a mass misinterpretation of this play ironically catapulted Mamet toward mainstream opportunities and success.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too much coffee

[Branden · Rating 4 out of 5]

normally hate Mamet, but i actually surprised myself by liking this one. like literally out of nowhere. made me think there was something wrong, but it's got a kind of natural sobriety and bite to it that i find his other plays (Oleanna, Race, etc.) trying too hard to manufacture. apparently this play was dedicated to Wallace Shawn? which is majorly freaky, because it felt like Mamet trying to channel Shawn, but maybe this made him realize how much better of a playwright Shawn was and he got angry and ran away. or something.

[Chambers Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last scene in this play scared the crap out of me!!!!

[Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently saw the movie version of Edmond with a friend who is an old Mamet superfan. He pointed out that Edmond is named after the grandfather of modern conservatism Edmund Burke, and that this is not a coincidence but a criticism of conservative male thinking. This play (and the movie) hit way different when you know this little tidbit.

However, having read the play, I think Mamet (who is now a conservative himself) was accidentally outing some of his own conservative beliefs here back in the early 80s. For one, all the black characters get the same dialectical spelling treatment while no other characters do. This is just strange. The main character has some very overt issues with black people, and then having every black character say “thass” instead of “that’s” makes me think the author may also harbor some similar personal prejudices.

The line “every fear hides a wish” is repeated several times in the play, and maybe Mamet’s ultimate fear is that he is Edmond, and over time he finally turned into him. I don’t know for sure, but based on his recent right wing editorial work it seems the most likely scenario.

[Elliot Chalom · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 2/3 of the way through I would have said that I really liked this play, and I don't want to spoil it, but it then turned in a direction that it didn't have to and it was hard to come back from that. Edmond (the play, not the character) is dark and funny and interesting, so maybe I'm at fault for not being able to get over that one left turn, but I just can't. Nevertheless, reminds me of how good Mamet can be. When he's "on" there is no better playwright.

[Tama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its got a lovely voice of whimsy, portraying a darkness of existence with humour. I liked how it feels as if being sucked into a depraved whirlwind. Bars, massage parlours (icky name), street racketeering. It felt a little more claustrophobic than I led myself to hope for Edmond in every place under the setting of NY in the 80s?

Recommended by a potential mentor as it is alike my script idea.

[Mandy. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un gran texto literario-dramático. Me encanta la evolución de Edmond durante la trama y la crítica a la sociedad capitalista así como del racismo y la xenofobia, tan vigentes hoy día.

[Marti Martinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very quick read. Very. Probably easily staged.

I was not moved by Edmond's tragedy.

[Stefania · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Aravind Jayan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Laroserr · Rating 3 out of 5]

escenes breus pro suggerents

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this at a time in which I was of a more conservative mind and when I finished it I wanted it out of my house immediately ha ha ha. But it resonated deeply

[The Face of Your Father · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not saying this is on par with other Mamet masterpieces, all I’m saying is that it’s as if Midnight Cowboy was shot in a series of Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes. Holy shit.

[Darius · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tightly written. I think this is about as close as art can usefully come to a thesis. It's focused and simple but not pedantic or quick to jump to conclusions. Like mamet keeps looking at these themes of money, power, sex, religion and is convinced of how his character moves through these scenarios, but less certain of what that inexorable unfolding means.

[Robert Walsh]

Quentin Tarrantino has cited Mamet as an influence in how he writes his dialogue. Take Edmond, mash it together with American Buffalo, and you've got Reservoir Dogs. I love it when I can pick out the influences from artist to artist, as well as pick up that influence myself along the way.

Edmond is thought provoking, uncomfortable at times, and truly dark. My kind of play.

[Letitia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of Mamet anyway, and this one is the quintessential misogyny and nihilism that I detest. I find the story uninteresting and hard to believe, the moral (if you can call it that) disgusting and highly objectionable, and the main character despicable.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd love to see this play on the stage. I found the character Edmond fascinating and curious. He's a testimony to Mamet's writing, which is controlled and sparse, leaving just enough leeway for the reader to imagine and wonder what is going on in Edmond's mind.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So confusing, but I liked it. I think this one where I'd benefit a lot from actually getting to see it live.

[Chuck O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great example of how plays need scenes that focus on behavior and how a protagonist needs to be singular if a point of view will be achieved.

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very underrated play from David Mamet. The darkness of the character Edmond had the audience glued to the pages.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this script, though I do not like Mamet very much.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd love to see this psychotic little play staged near me sometime soon.

[Erin]

Intense, dark, thought provoking. Is the most honest way to live to act on primal impulses?

[Alex Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent but very sad. Enjoyable read.

[H · Rating 1 out of 5]

man fuck this guy

[Nick Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's like someone packed all Mamet's minor plays into one.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play, quick read. Very sad, though...