A Question of Mercy
A Play Based on the Essay by Richard Selzer
David Rabe
- The
- Tony
- Award–winning
- playwright
- of
- Hurlyburly
- “confronts
- the
- timely
- topic
- of
- assisted
- suicide
- .
- .
- .
- an
- affirmation
- of
- dignity
- that
- rings
- clear
- and
- true”
- (Variety).David
- Rabe
- is
- one
- of
- America’s
- finest
- dramatists.
- In
- A
- Question
- of
- Mercy,
- he
- explores
- the
- controversial
- and
- emotional
- issue
- of
- euthanasia,
- delving
- deep
- into
- the
- ties
- that
- bind
- friends
- and
- lovers.
- Thomas
- and
- Anthony
- are
- lovers
- struggling
- with
- Anthony’s
- final,
- exhausting
- battle
- with
- AIDS.
- Joined
- by
- their
- friend
- Susanah
- and
- a
- retired
- doctor,
- whose
- help
- Thomas
- has
- requested,
- they
- fashion
- a
- heartbreaking
- friendship
- as
- they
- work
- through
- the
- stages
- of
- a
- plan
- to
- relieve
- Anthony
- of
- his
- illness
- and
- his
- life.
- Rabe
- creates
- a
- passionate
- depiction
- of
- four
- people
- confronted
- with
- the
- reality
- of
- a
- loved
- one’s
- fight
- with
- death
- and
- a
- compelling
- dramatic
- event
- that
- poses
- the
- question:
- “What
- would
- you
- do?”“A
- moving
- and
- enlightening
- experience.”
- —Backstage“Completely
- gripping.
- This
- life
- and
- death
- tale
- questions
- the
- moral
- implications
- involved
- with
- assisted
- suicide,
- and
- the
- honor
- behind
- the
- action.
- A
- serious
- and
- provocative
- night
- at
- the
- theatre.”
- —TheasyPraise
- for
- David
- Rabe“Few
- contemporary
- dramatists
- have
- dealt
- with
- violence,
- physical
- and
- psychological,
- more
- impressively
- than
- Rabe.”
- —Kirkus
- Reviews“A
- remarkable
- storyteller.”
- —Chicago
- Tribune“Rabe’s
- mastery
- of
- dialogue
- is
- the
- equal
- of
- Pinter
- and
- Mamet
- put
- together
- .
- .
- .
- full
- of
- a
- measured
- Mafia
- formality
- played
- against
- Jacobean
- terrors,
- blood
- lust,
- horror
- and
- revenge
- raised
- to
- an
- unlikely
- poetry
- dazed
- by
- equally
- unlikely
- insights.”
- —The
- Boston Globe
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