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Laughing wild
83 pages
A manic, darkly hilarious descent into the shared anxieties and absurdities of modern urban life.
What it feels like
Reading this play feels like being cornered by a brilliant, deeply neurotic stranger who is simultaneously having a nervous breakdown and making the most astute observations you have ever heard. The experience is breathless and chaotic, driven by a brisk energy that mirrors the overwhelming sensory overload of city living. It wraps profound existential dread and the terror of societal crises in layers of biting, absurd comedy, making you laugh out loud even as your chest tightens with secondhand anxiety. The text is a masterclass in manic stream-of-consciousness, shifting seamlessly from the mundane frustrations of a grocery store aisle to the cosmic tragedy of human isolation. It is a perfect, cathartic read for anyone who has ever felt entirely overwhelmed by the sheer ridiculousness of being alive in the modern world.
- Mood
- frenetic
- anxious
- chaotic
- surreal
- Tone
- manic
- satirical
- darkly comedic
- cynical
- absurd
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- urban alienation · existential dread · mental instability · the absurdity of modern life · fragile human connection
- The writing
- Breathless, sharp, and highly theatrical, driven by rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness and biting observational wit.
- The arc
- Moves from isolated, manic frustration through surreal shared anxiety, ultimately landing on a fragile, deeply skeptical truce with reality.
- Who it's for
- Readers who appreciate dark, absurd humor and neurotic, fast-paced explorations of societal breakdown.
Content notes
- mental illness
- religious trauma
- mentions of AIDS
- urban violence
About the book
"In the first section of the play, a Woman enters and embarks on an increasingly frenetic (and funny) recital of the perils and frustrations of daily life in urban America--waiting in line, rude taxi drivers, inane talk shows and the selfish people who block the aisles in supermarkets. In particular she is incensed by a man who prevented her from buying a can of tuna fish by standing in her way--and whom she attacked in a fit of pique. In the second monologue ('Seeking Wild') the Man appears, and while the subjects on which he expounds (nuclear waste, the rigidity of the Catholic Church, particularly in sexual matters, the threat of AIDS) may be broader in context, he also dwells on an incident in a supermarket, when a strange woman hit him over the head in the tuna fish aisle. In the final portion of the play ('Dreaming Wild') the two protagonists meet at last and reenact the supermarket incident via six varying interpretations; tell us more fully of their overlapping dreams; and then launch into an explosively funny parody of a talk show. In the end the two find an accommodation of sorts as they come together at the Harmonic Convergence in Central Park--both still hoping to instill a sense of optimism and purpose in their lives, but both still skeptical that they will succeed in doing so."--
Description from Open Library.
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