Make and Break

by Michael Frayn

John Garrard is a successful manufacturer who is driven by a compulsion to use and consume the world and the people around him. He is briefly intensely curious about everything he comes across, particularly other people's worlds: their religious beliefs, their sexual and artistic yearnings and their feelings about him. During one climactic night amid the hectic activities of a trade fair in Germany, it looks as if he will be forced to turn his sharp eyes upon himself and come face to face at last with silence and darkness.

Genres: Plays, Drama

Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Michael Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy. His novels, such as Towards the End of the Morning, Headlong and Spies, have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. His works often raise philosophical questions in a humorous context. Frayn's wife is Claire Tomalin, the biographer and literary journalist.

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frayn’s comedy makes a serious point about the business world: beneath the obsessive busyness, there’s a self-destructive emptiness.

[Vladimiro Sousa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make and Break is a sharp and funny comedy by Michael Frayn that explores the world of business and the people who work in it. The play follows John Garrard, a successful manufacturer who is driven by a compulsion to use and consume the world and the people around him. Garrard is a complex and fascinating character, and Frayn does a masterful job of portraying his inner turmoil.

The play is set at a trade fair in Germany, and it is full of witty observations about the business world. Frayn skewers the corporate culture of greed and ambition, and he also shows the dark side of success. Make and Break is a cautionary tale about the dangers of living for work, and it is a reminder that there is more to life than making money.

Make and Break is nice thought-provoking and entertaining play that is sure to leave you with something to think about.

[Marcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling dive into corporate and sales culture, with a range of believable characterizations breaking in. I found myself surprisingly moved. The British audio production is great.