The cast fully inhabit Mamet’s ruthless world
David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross remains one of the sharpest examinations of ambition, desperation, and capitalism ever written. First premiering at the National Theatre in 1983, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play is set in a cut-throat Chicago real estate office where success is measured solely by sales figures. The rules are brutally simple: first prize is a Cadillac, second prize is a set of steak knives, and everyone else faces unemployment. What follows is a gripping, darkly comic drama filled with betrayal, manipulation, and Mamet’s trademark rapid-fire dialogue, writes Luigia Minichiello.
Directed by Tony Award winner Patrick Marber, this latest revival at The Old Vic marks the first major production of Glengarry Glen Ross to feature an entirely female cast. Think Mad Men reimagined as Mad Women. On paper, it sounds like a fascinating reinvention of a modern classic, and there was certainly plenty of anticipation in the room, not least because Sir Ian McKellen was spotted in the audience on press night.
The cast is impeccably committed throughout. Dressed in sharp suits, with big, glamorous blow-out hair and make-up, they fully inhabit Mamet’s ruthless world of salesmanship. Cigarettes lit, insults fly across the stage, and the level of shouting and swearing would put a terrace of disappointed Millwall supporters to shame. At times, however, the sheer volume of confrontation becomes relentless, with very little respite from the aggression driving the play forward.
Staged completely in the round, the production creates an intimate atmosphere that places the audience right in the middle of the action. The format certainly heightens the tension, but I felt it left little room for some of the play’s more nuanced moments to breathe. Relationships that could have added emotional depth, particularly Levene’s references to a daughter and Roma’s friendship with the customer she ultimately exploits, felt overshadowed by the production’s relentless pace and intensity.
My biggest reservation, however, lies with the all-female casting itself. While the performances are uniformly strong, I never felt the production fully explored what a female perspective could bring to these characters or this story. Beyond the casting, very little appears to have changed. Rather than uncovering new dimensions within Mamet’s world, it often felt as though the actors were playing drag kings, inhabiting traditionally male archetypes without the adaptation interrogating or enriching what that gender shift might mean. It felt like a missed opportunity to bring something uniquely feminine to the material.
That said, there is still much to admire. The performances are convincing, the accents impressive, and there are genuine laughs scattered throughout the tension. I particularly enjoyed the narrative of a feisty sales team hustling to survive, while former top seller Levene, once known as “Shelley the Machine”, finds herself frozen out and given bad leads, then takes desperate measures. Marber clearly understands the power of Mamet’s writing, and his description of the play as both profound and obscene feels entirely fitting, and his belief that it speaks directly to the world we live in today.
This is a bold revival of a modern classic, even if it never quite capitalises on the opportunities presented by its central concept.
Glengarry Glen Ross at Old Vic until july 18th.
Booking and full details: https://www.oldvictheatre.com/stage/glengarry-glen-ross/
