Professor David Peimer
Damon Runyon: Romanticising New York Hustlers and Gangsters with Such Charm
Summary
Damon Runyon invented a romanticized version of New York, from Prohibition in the 1930s through the Great Depression and beyond. A city of gambling joints, speakeasies, all night diners, dreamers, losers, gangsters, hustlers, dancing girls, millionaire playboys, racketeers, boxing champions - where life was a game played with weighted dice. He created tropes that still resonate today, with attractive and lovable characters despite their foibles. This lecture will look at how Runyon’s unique characters lived on the screen.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing in New York, UK, Berlin, EU Parliament (Brussels), Athens, Budapest, Zululand and more. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published widely with books including: Armed Response: Plays from South Africa, the digital book, Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.