DAVID Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, a serio-comic depiction of real estate agents and their cut-throat attempts to push plots of land on wary buyers, comes to Daylesford Theatre next week.

Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize, the play is one its director, John Zuill, has long wanted to present before a Bermuda audience.

"Bermuda's a sort of odd financial services economy and, therefore, Bermudians should appreciate the dynamics of the play, of selling possibilities - which is what these guys are doing, selling opportunities to people.

"Which is sort of an odd thing to sell," he said. "Bermudians sell dreams through tourism and the broader implication of what reinsurance is, is selling a kind of rehashed security as it were. It's odd, I think. I'm not saying reinsurance companies are criminal by any means, but today we sell very peculiar products. It's not a carrot.

"I am really happy with the cast. I think it's going to be a good show. In reflection of Bermuda, I wanted to do it because it's a good play and I enjoy it, especially because I like plays that aren't sentimental."

As described by synopsis, (Glengarry Glen Ross) is a "scalding comedy about small-time, cut-throat real estate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their fair share of the American dream.

"(It is) Mamet at his very best, writing with brutal power about the tough life of tough characters who cajole, connive, wheedle and wheel and deal for a piece of the action - where losing a sale can mean a brand-new Cadillac but losing one can mean losing it all."

Characters include Shelley (The Machine) Levene, a man determined to maintain his humanity in an environment that views him as a liability; George Aaronow, desperate and confused, struggling to stay in a game he once mastered; and Dave Moss, vindictive, cold-hearted and frightened - the economy is shot to hell and management isn't offering any support. There are also Ricky Roma, the ace, a guy in his prime doing fine despite the squeeze; James Lingk, and Baylen, a tough police detective eager to find the culprit of a crime.

Running it all is John Williamson, the management shill who follows instructions to the letter. He is sponsoring a sales contest. The agent with the most sales at month's end wins a Cadillac Eldorado. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize? They're all fired.

The script received rave reviews as a film when it was produced in 1992 with Al Pacino nominated as Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role as Richard (Ricky) Roma, an agent desperately trying to close a deal.

Mr. Zuill, who ran a stage company for some time in Rochester, New York and has directed plays locally through Waterspout Theatre, said he saw Glengarry Glen Ross performed onstage while in Rochester.

"I've wanted to do it for some time. There's a kind of droll approach to David Mamet which, I suppose, I was trying to get away from. I've sort of taken a more comic view of it. (It also helps that) the Bermudian accent slips into Mamet's rhythm and doesn't encourage that droll style.

"It also works because Mamet's characters are always in a closed social environment and people speak in a kind of telegraph (similar to) Bermudians, when they speak of things, anticipate that they can say very little and the person listening will understand what they're saying."

Glengarry Glen Ross runs Monday April 7 through Saturday, April 12 at the Daylesford Theatre on the corner of Washington and Dundonald Streets. Tickets, $15, are available from the box office as of Monday and through April 4, between 5.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. Once performances begin, tickets are available at the box office between 5.30 p.m. and 8 p.m. To order tickets via credit card, telephone the box office, 292-0848. The play includes strong language.