Filthy Talk for Troubled Times: And Other Plays

Neil LaBute burst onto the American theater scene in 1989 with his controversial debut work Filthy Talk for Troubled Times. Set in a barroom in Anytown USA and populated by a series of everymen (and two beleaguered everywomen), this series of frank exchanges explores the innumerable varieties of American intolerance. A unique snapshot of the times, the play seldom allowed production by the author since provides a compelling look at the early thinking and evolution of one of our great theater artists. Also in this collection is a series of new, short works, some never before produced. They include The New Testament, a showbiz satire that takes a close look at the perils of color-blind casting, and The Furies, in which a woman helps navigate her brother's breakup with his out-and-then-perhaps, in-the-closet-again lover.