Plot synopsis

The Last Yankee is a present-day state mental hospital somewhere in New England. Patricia Hamilton is recovering from depression, and this may be the day she feels strong enough to go home. But a visit from her husband Leroy, a descendant of one of America's founding fathers, coincides with that of a successful businessman, John Frick, who has come to see his newly-admitted wife, Karen. A clash of values and emotions upsets them all. In Arthur Miller's compelling play success, it seems, is always risky, but can only be achieved by rejoining and making sense of an imperfect world beyond.

A play in two parts which focuses on the relationships of two couples - Leroy and Patricia Hamilton, married many years with seven children, and John and Helen Frick, a childless couple. Both women are patients at a mental institution, and act one sees the two men meet for the first time in the waiting room on visitors day. Helen has not long been institutionalised, and Frick is having a difficult time coping with her mental illness, while Patricia has been in and out of institutions for many years. The two men struggle to communicate under the circumstances, though even this breaks down in the face of their respective situations. Patricia and Helen have become friendly during their time together in the ward, and act two sees the four characters brought together inside, where a picture emerges of a society whose members feel obscurely cheated and where success is equated with failure. `A short piece in length, but a miniature masterpiece.

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