‘When the play focuses on the self-entrapment of the characters, Mr. Miller can be tender as well as trenchant’
NEW YORK TIMES

Two strangers meet in a New England psychiatric clinic, each visiting their admitted, depressed wife: one is a humble carpenter with seven children, the other a successful businessman in a childless marriage; both have been forgotten by the promise of the American Dream.

Described by Miller as ‘a comedy about a tragedy’, this one-act play highlights the devastating consequences for those who fail to achieve the purported riches of the American Dream; a reality many face.

This Methuen Drama Student Edition is edited by Ciaran Leinster, with commentary and notes that explore the play’s production history (including excerpts from an interview with director David Thacker) as well as the dramatic, thematic and academic debates that surround it.