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Charlie Evans, a pool shark down on his luck in the bedroom as well as in the pool hall, has two days to pay off a $3,000 debt, or have his legs broken by Bulldog, a psychotic debt collector who also happens to be having an affair with Charlie’s wife, Helen. In his desperation to recover both the money and his self-esteem, Charlie gets involved in a series of hustles, pushing the tension to a breathtaking climax.
The complicated narrative of the play allows French to build a convincing case for Charlie’s humanity—how his actions, devious, frantic, and perplexed as they are, spring directly from his need to survive his pathetic circumstance and to maintain his dignity as a survivor. Tired, suspicious, despairing, knowing that the game is no good for him and yet knowing no other game, Charlie plunges into a situation which may mean disaster or salvation, because in Charlie’s world of cliché and stereotype, everything comes down to betting on the right thing at the right time.
Cast of 2 women and 8 men.
ISBN 13: 9780889224889 | ISBN 10: 889224889
6 W x 9 H inches | 96 pages
$15.95 CAN / $11.95 US
Rights: World
Backlist | Drama
| Bisac: DRA013000
QUOTES OF NOTE
“One Crack Out is a large-boned, daring work, reflecting an astute craftsmanship…the results are almost explosively stirring.”
—Toronto Star
“French’s glimpse of life in one Canadian underworld is funny, vigorous, and highly theatrical.”
—Globe & Mail
“A definite winner that will be around for a long time.”
—Ottawa Citizen
About the Contributors
David FrenchBorn in Coley’s Point, Newfoundland, David French was one of Canada’s best-known and most critically acclaimed playwrights. His work received many major awards, and French was one of the first inductees into the Newfoundland Arts Hall of Honour.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF); and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council for our publishing activities.