The first collection in the UK by a major American dramatist Containing Rabe's Vietnam Trilogy, all four plays in this collection focus on what the author calls 'The Eternal Human pageant.' In THE BASIC TRAINING OF PAVLO HUMMEL (which starred Al Pacino), a young recruit is gradually brutalised, STICKS AND BONES deals with the issue of mixed race partnerships during the war and STREAMERS portrays the absurdity of violence through the characters of two sergeants. Also included is THE ORPHAN, Rabe's version of THE ORESTEIA. In Rabe's vision the American dream has tipped over into a furious nightmare in which war is not just a political phenomenon but an elemental force, like love or death.The fast explosive dialogue of which Rabe is a master Sunday Times Rabe sees in modern America a cosmic despair Guardian David Rabe is remarkable storyteller Chicago Tribune