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David Mamet bans post-show talks about his plays

Producers risk $25,000 fine if discussion is held within two hours of a performance

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David Mamet is seemingly not a fan of people sharing their thoughts on his work.

The acclaimed American-Jewish writer is facing backlash after it emerged that he is against post-show analyses of his plays.

The licence to stage a play by Mr Mamet, whose work includes Oleanna and House of Games, now includes a clause preventing producers from staging formal post-show talks within two hours of a performance. Any violation risks a fine of $25,000 as well as the removal of the licence.

Peter Hagan, the president of the Dramatists Play Service in New York, said: “The restriction applies to all of Mamet’s plays which we license. We were instructed to do this. It’s fairly recent.”

The move has not been welcomed by some. Oscar-winning playwright Sir Ronald Harwood, who is also Jewish, told the Guardian: “I think it’s ridiculous, quite honestly … If he had reasons and told us, perhaps we would think of it differently.”

But Scott Behrend, who is directing a production of his play Glengarry Glen Ross in Buffalo, New York in October, took a more forgiving view. The ban on discussions was “just part of the deal if you do a Mamet play. He’s probably had some bad experience with talkbacks”, he said. 

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