Hotel Room Trilogy Three one act plays

"The dialogue has the evocative spareness of Pinter, and [the] control of mood [is] menacing, mesmerizing." --TIME

The tangible mystery of these stories is grounded in the peculiar relationships that unfold slowly, producing an unrelenting uncanny atmosphere. In each play, a family member has recently died and the survivors are left to deal with the consequences.

• In "Tricks" Gifford approaches the psychological territory of Kafka. We meet two men looking for something more than just sex from a prostitute. Are the men two halves of a severed personality?
• In "Blackout" Danny and Diane, an Oklahoma couple of the 1930s, cannot move beyond the grief of a personal tragedy. Refusing to accept the death of her son, Diane seeks refuge in low-level deliriums.
• In "Mrs. Kashfi" a young boy experiences a spooky visitation while his mother voyages into the sea of clairvoyance with a fortune teller.

"Gifford's night people are a strange mix of utter weirdness and bedrock humanity, rampant eccentricity, and absolute individuality. Some things in life are beyond analysis, and Barry Gifford is one of them." --Booklist