The Penitent (TCG Edition)

David Mamet

• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Year: 2018
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9781559368865
• Subtopic: American Drama
• Index: Literature

“The finest American author of his generation.” —Sunday Mail

“Viewed as an indictment of journalism or the law—take your pick—The Penitent is timely and exciting and, in the best of ways, awfully depressing.” —NBC New York

“David Mamet is an American theater icon for good reason. He writes plays with nuance and depth that require the audience to really listen and think. About subjects that will stick to your ribs and keep your mind and your guts churning long after you leave the theater. The Penitent is no exception.” —Front Row Center

In David Mamet’s searing new drama, Charles, a psychiatrist, is thrown into a firestorm of controversy when he refuses to testify on behalf of a gay client accused of killing ten people. He claims his refusal is a principled defense of the Hippocratic oath, enshrining the confidentiality of the doctor-client relationship. The client’s defense claims it is bigotry. As Charles is subjected to a Job-like barrage of misfortune, The Penitent asks the question: What is the cost of standing up for what you believe?

David Mamet is a playwright, essayist and screenwriter who directs for both the stage and film. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. His other plays include American Buffalo, The Anarchist, Race, Speed-the-Plow, Oleanna and China Doll, among many others.

SCENE 1

Charles and Kath.

At rise, Kath is sitting at a table reading a newspaper.

Charles enters.

KATH: . . . Richard called. He . . .

CHARLES: Yes, hold on.

KATH: What is it?

CHARLES: Can I sit for a moment?

KATH: Of course.

(Pause.)

CHARLES: I may need to go away.

KATH: To go away?

CHARLES: Yes.

KATH: Why?

CHARLES: . . . To think this through.

KATH: You need to go away.

CHARLES: Yes.

KATH: Have you discussed it with Richard?

CHARLES: No.

KATH: Then who helped you arrive at this decision?

CHARLES: I came to it on my own.

KATH: With whose help?

CHARLES: It doesn’t do any good. To disparage him . . .

KATH: It does me good.

CHARLES: Yes, all right. Kath. I’d like you to understand.

KATH: Then you’re going to have to explain it to me.

CHARLES: I need. To . . .

KATH: To “find some solace,” is that right?

CHARLES: That’s right.

KATH: To “take yourself out of the fray”?

CHARLES: Or: to find some “wisdom.”

KATH: Because of the boy.

(Pause.)

It started with the boy.

CHARLES: Please . . .?

KATH: Didn’t it? Your “studies . . .”

CHARLES: Yes. That’s right.

KATH: . . . that “occupy” you . . .

CHARLES: I’ve tried to explain it to you.

KATH: Then you must be holding something back. Or else I’m stupid, which may be the case. Or insufficiently “moral.”

CHARLES: Neither of which are the case.

KATH: Well, then I don’t understand. And Richard needs to speak to you.

CHARLES: About?

KATH: . . . the “Manifesto” . . .?

CHARLES: . . . it’s just a letter.

KATH: The boy called it that.

CHARLES: He never did. I don’t believe he did.

KATH: The press did.

CHARLES: That’s right.

KATH: He wrote so vilely about you.

CHARLES: I was one of a number on his list.

KATH: Why did they publish it?

CHARLES: I don’t know. Because it’s scurrilous.

KATH: If they were “out to get you.”

CHARLES: And you think they’re not?

KATH: Why would they be?

CHARLES: It’s human nature.

KATH: What is?

CHARLES: To turn vicious when frightened.

KATH: Is that “wisdom”?

CHARLES: I think it is.

KATH: Why does Richard need to talk to you?

CHARLES: Well, it would be a “legal matter.”

KATH: About some “statement”?

CHARLES: What statement?

KATH: I don’t know. What is the legal matter?

CHARLES (Gestures): It’s in the paper.

KATH (Referring to the paper): It’s about what you wrote?

CHARLES: I never wrote it.

KATH: You didn’t write what they said?

CHARLES: Of course not.

KATH: Why of course?

CHARLES: Do you think that’s what I ever felt?

KATH: But it’s in the paper.

CHARLES: Well, they’ve taken the side of the boy, then, haven’t they?

KATH: Why would they do that?

CHARLES: I told you.

KATH: Tell me again.

CHARLES: Because that’s their job.

KATH: After what he did?

CHARLES: Yes.

KATH: I don’t understand.

CHARLES: They’re in the business of selling papers. To do so, they reduce a horrifying, complex act, to a myth. A myth contains a monster and a victim. Every story needs a victim.

KATH: But the people he kille...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Production History
• Characters
• Scene 1
• Scene 2
• Scene 3
• Scene 4
• Scene 5
• Scene 6
• Scene 7
• Scene 8
• About the Author