Have you ever had one of those days…
For the characters in Glengarry Glen Ross, EVERY day was one of those days.
My colleague Bradley and I saw the Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of Glengarry Glen Ross the other night. First off , this is not a theatre review. Bradley and I both love live theatre, and we loved everything about the production. The set was perfect, the performances were amazing, David Mament’s dialogue was riveting.
This is a review of the state of the characters in their workplace. Bradley and I were watching this production not only as theatregoers, but as observers of corporate culture. What a horrible working environment these gentlemen were in.
During the intermission, I jotted down a few words that came to mind while watching the first Act.
Manipulative
Backstabbing
Desperation
Non team players
Abusive
Bullying
Bradley said, “This certainly make me feel fortunate about my workplace”. Indeed.
We all have those days when the job can be challenging, even frustrating. Maybe we think it is not all its cracked up to be. However, if you have a good team and good corporate culture, they will sustain you through difficult times. The workers in Glengarry Glen Ross exude hopelessness. You can’t help but feel sorry for them.
The last line in the play was “I hate this job”.
I’m certainly glad I don’t feel the same way.
Hi Jessica,
Thanks so much to you and Bradley for coming to the show! I hadn’t heard of McNak before, how great you guys are working to provide people with the opposite of Glengarry:)
Hope to see you at the theatre soon!
Nicole
Nicole McLuckie
Communications Manager at the Arts Club
Hi, I played Sheldon Levene in a Fringe Theater production here in Hong Kong. My experience (Bell Northern Research, IBM) is that “Glengarry” style workplaces are the norm and increasing in the economic downturn. My experience is that it usually takes only one self-seeking “bad apple” to exploit and destroy more humanistic corporate cultures and to transform them into Glengarries.
This is because we all pretend in even humanistic corporations to be equal when in fact we’re not. The corporation can only be humanistic in a humanistic society with a strong social safety net, including unemployment insurance and legal aid.