Customer Reviews

Marber Plays: 1: After Miss Julie; Closer; Dealer's Choice (Contemporary Dramatists) (v. 1)

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To be perfectly honest, I bought this book to read "Closer", after having seen the movie, which I loved. It was really intriguing to see a movie based on a play, as an avid theatre-goer. You can tell that the movie was based on a stage production, just because it relies almost entirely on text, as opposed to the other production elements. There are almost no blank spaces of silence in this movie! But that's not why I'm here...the play was every bit as raw and filthy as the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Marbers other plays, Dealer's Choice and After Miss Julie, were of equal quality, and offered something surprisingly different from his other text (a rarity in today's theatre world). I do suggest reading the book front to back, to get a grasp of his style...the text is so readable (even for people who tend to read only prose).


Dealer's Choice - This play follows several men who meet up to play poker every once in awhile. What should be a simple game between them holds such higher relevance, which we learn as the play progresses. As another reviewer posted before, Marber has mastered time flow with this piece. The characters are believable, and play off of each other with such ease.

After Miss Julie - Being a youngun who hasn't even read the original "Miss Julie", I has reservations that I might not understand the characters or storyline at all in this one. I was proven wrong, of course, as this story of passion and greed jumps off the page and brings you right into the scene. The text is really vivid with this, and carries such an elegant theme to it, which makes the fall of this elegance so much more brutal and fun to read. I love the play on societal differences that this plot brings out, the dominant and the submissive. Very engaging.

Closer - The character work in this is brilliant, as well as the pace. Marber has such remarkable ease with the character interactions, given such a complex and fast moving storyline. There is nothing unneccessary, but it moves along slowly enough for you to grasp every image, and idea. A couple of scenes that were excluded from the movie were a nice surprise, as well as a plot twist at the end that was only suggested in the movie, if that. Never before have I read a scene in a play and felt as though I should read it aloud. Doing so gave me shivers. Brilliant for actors looking for ruthless, energetic text that rolls off the tongue. Though the characters fall is shatttering and devastating, the play is beautiful and satisfying in the end.


Overall, I completely recommend this text, for people just getting into playreading, or avid readers. Can't wait to see more of what Marber can bring to the table.

I must admit I didn't know this play existed until the movie came out. The script does not dissapoint. For those of you that are into intense character development and gritty language - this is for you. Would be great to have for scene work, it includes scenes for 2 men, 2 women, 1 man and 1 woman. No great monologues throughout the entire book though.

I have not yet read the other two plays, and I bought this book so I could do just that. However, "Closer" is so captivating to me and so satisfying in its complexity that I feel ok about giving the whole a 5 star rating even before I've read the others. This writer's ability to express the emotional depth of a variety of characters in one play and reveal how they all influence and are influenced by one another makes this a very stimulating read. The movie was wonderful as well. I don't think I like one over the other.

The Book it's self is of average quality. Nothing special about the binding, I don't think it could last more than 5 years with normal use.

Patrick Marber is a novice play right but one with so much natural talent he seems like a seasoned pro at times. Dealer's choice has never been on my hit list but I have admired his rendition of Miss Julie in his After Miss Julie. Closer is the crown jewel of this collection. Witty and honest portray of how people choice to mess up their relationships. The book is in chronological order, going for his first play Dealers Choice to After Miss Julie then ending with Closer. If you read the book straight through you can see his writing style mature from dealer's choice and eventually peak in Closer. The intro and forward are nothing to brag about and might as well not be included. If you're looking to get this book cause you saw the movie version of closer then I recommend it. The movie is almost a exact replica of the play with just a few location changes and some scenes deleted. The character Alice isn't so sympathetic in the play but just as vulnerable and endearing.

The material speaks for itself really. Patrick Marber is a brilliant playwright and I look forward to any future material he produces.