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The world according to David Ives is a very add place, and his plays constitute a virtual stress test of the English language -- and of the audience's capacity for disorientation and delight. Ives's characters plunge into black holes called "Philadelphias," where the simplest desires are hilariously thwarted. Chimps named Milton, Swift, and Kafka are locked in a room and made to re-create Hamlet. And a con man peddles courses in a dubious language in which "hello" translates as "velcro" and "fraud" comes out as "freud." At once enchanting and perplexing, incisively intelligent and side-splittingly funny, this original paperback edition of Ives's plays includes "Sure Thing," "Words, Words, Words," "The Universal Language," "Variations on the Death of Trotsky," "The Philadelphia," "Long Ago and Far Away," "Foreplay, or The Art of the Fugue," "Seven Menus," "Mere Mortals," "English Made Simple," "A Singular Kinda Guy," "Speed-the-Play," "Ancient History," and "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread."… (more)
User reviews
Many of these pieces, like "Sure Thing", will only be at their best with perfect timing and the laughter of a live audience, but the smart writing and small casts make these more translatable to a reading experience than one might expect. Each one is unique, fun, and resounding with Ives' signature humor and word and timing play. The one long play included here, Ancient History, is also a perfect blend of drama and humor, with just enough crossed lines.
All together, Ives is a dramatic wonder, and this collection is utterly wonderful. Highly recommended.