What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dice House
A play by Paul Lucas, inspired by Luke Rhinehart's novel 'The Dice Man'.
The Dice House unfolds in a commune run by maverick psychiatrist Dr. Ratner where the patients are encouraged to surrender all their decisions to the roll of the dice. When Ratner's rival Dr Drabble hurls one of his own patients into the clinic to kidnap an inmate - his wife - a comic romp of Pythonesque proportions ensues. The Dice House is a glorious glimpse of how insane life could be if determined by the dice - and how ordinary it can be if it isn't!
The Dice House at the Arts Theatre in London's West End on February 4th 2004, directed by Graeme Messer.
The Dice House unfolds in a commune run by maverick psychiatrist Dr. Ratner where the patients are encouraged to surrender all their decisions to the roll of the dice. When Ratner's rival Dr Drabble hurls one of his own patients into the clinic to kidnap an inmate - his wife - a comic romp of Pythonesque proportions ensues. The Dice House is a glorious glimpse of how insane life could be if determined by the dice - and how ordinary it can be if it isn't!
The Dice House at the Arts Theatre in London's West End on February 4th 2004, directed by Graeme Messer.
96 pages, Paperback
Published December 31, 1999
About the author
Luke Rhinehart
32 books439 followersLuke Rhinehart was the pen name of the author George Cockcroft.
He was born in the United States, son of an engineer and a civil servant. He received a BA from Cornell University and an MA from Columbia University. Subsequently he received a PhD in psychology, also from Columbia. He married his wife, Ann, on June 30, 1956. He has three children.
After obtaining his PhD, he went into teaching. During his years as a university teacher he taught, among other things, courses in Zen and Western literature. He first floated the idea of living according to the casting of dice in a lecture. The reaction was reportedly of equal parts intrigue and disgust, and it was at this point he realized it could become a novel. Cockcroft began experimenting with dice a long time before writing The Dice Man, but this made progress on the novel rather slow.
In 1971, London-based publisher, Talmy Franklin, published The Dice Man, Cockcroft's first novel as Luke Rhinehart. Soon afterwards, Cockcroft was engaged in the creation of a dice center in New York City.
In 1975, he was involved in a round-the-world voyage in a large trimaran ketch. Later, he spent some time in a sailboat in the Mediterranean, where he taught English and from there moved to a former Sufi retreat on the edge of a lake in Canaan, New York.
On 1 August 2012, at the age of 80, Cockcroft arranged for his own death to be announced, as a joke.
Cockcroft passed away (for real) at the age of 87 on November 6. 2020.
He was born in the United States, son of an engineer and a civil servant. He received a BA from Cornell University and an MA from Columbia University. Subsequently he received a PhD in psychology, also from Columbia. He married his wife, Ann, on June 30, 1956. He has three children.
After obtaining his PhD, he went into teaching. During his years as a university teacher he taught, among other things, courses in Zen and Western literature. He first floated the idea of living according to the casting of dice in a lecture. The reaction was reportedly of equal parts intrigue and disgust, and it was at this point he realized it could become a novel. Cockcroft began experimenting with dice a long time before writing The Dice Man, but this made progress on the novel rather slow.
In 1971, London-based publisher, Talmy Franklin, published The Dice Man, Cockcroft's first novel as Luke Rhinehart. Soon afterwards, Cockcroft was engaged in the creation of a dice center in New York City.
In 1975, he was involved in a round-the-world voyage in a large trimaran ketch. Later, he spent some time in a sailboat in the Mediterranean, where he taught English and from there moved to a former Sufi retreat on the edge of a lake in Canaan, New York.
On 1 August 2012, at the age of 80, Cockcroft arranged for his own death to be announced, as a joke.
Cockcroft passed away (for real) at the age of 87 on November 6. 2020.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 22, 2024
Single set, fairly one-dimensional characters. Good for an amateur theatre romp. The non-stop absurdity will please audiences. Some prop/costume/special effects requirements, but creative solutions will solve most. Some crude / sexual / off-color moments require thoughtful consideration.
Displaying 1 of 1 review