More Inciting Incidents From Recent Plays

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'. . . this isn't a comedy about the Holocaust, it's a film about the Holocaust made by a comedian, which is different. The idea was simply this: What would happen if you put a comedian -- me, in other words -- in an extreme situation? And what is the most extreme situation that exists? A concentration camp. At first it was no more than a paradox . . . but then I realized that when I said the words concentration camp, Holocaust, shoah, they had a strange effect -- they discombobulated me, as the Americans say. For days these words wouldn't let go of me, wouldn't let me sleep. . . . I tried to find an alternative scenario with the same power, but I don't think there's anything in the world that has the same power. I sort of fell in love with this idea -- and you can't fall in love without being a little bit afraid.'

-- Roberto Benigni

• Yasmina Reza's ART [on I-1]
  MARC tells us his friend has bought a large all-white painting. "This white painting with white lines."

  [If you're not into contemporary art, the fact that this is all white -- and cost 200,000 francs, as we soon discover -- is all it takes to capture interest. If you are into minimalist art and thus an all-white painting is no big deal, the fact that MARC doesn't like it is enough to hold us.]

• Paula Vogel's HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE [on I-1]
  LI'L BIT tells us, "Sometimes to tell a secret, you first have to teach a lesson."

  [This is not only on I-1 of the manuscript, but is also the first line of dialogue.]

• Richard Nelson's NEW ENGLAND [on I-3]
  HARRY takes a revolver out of his desk drawer and cocks it.

  [And the build continues in the next 15 seconds of stage action as he puts the barrel to his head. And his wife walks in. And he kills himself.]

• David Hare's SKYLIGHT [on I-1]
  KYRA leaves the front door of her apartment open and as she exits to the kitchen, a young man appears in the doorway, standing there, listening, uncertain.

  [Within a few moments, we soon discover this is her former step-son who she has not seen since he was a boy. But the tension remains.]

• Tina Howe's PRIDE'S CROSSING [on I-3]
  MABEL says, looking at a bill, "The Beverly Visiting Nurse Service? Eight hundred thirty three dollars? What next?" Then stuffs it away in a pile of junk.

  [And we realize -- or think we do -- that this 90-year-old lady hasn't been paying her bills.]

• Warren Leight's SIDE MAN [on I-2]
  CLIFFORD says to us, "And even if there are no clean breaks, I swear, tomorrow morning I'm out."

  [And we wonder if he'll really be able to do this.]

• Martin McDonagh's THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE [on I-8]
  MAG says, "The fella up and murdered the poor oul [old] woman in Dublin and he didn't even know her."

  [And we see that MAG is in her seventies. And MAUREEN responds, "Sure, that sounds exactly the type of fella I would like to meet, and then bring him home to meet you, if he likes murdering oul women."]