Neil LaBute: A Casebook

Neil LaBute: A Casebookis the first book to examine one of the most successful and controversial contemporary American playwrights and filmmakers. John Lahr has written of him, "There is no playwright on the planet these days who is writing better than Neil LaBute." While he is most famous, and in some cases infamous, for his early filmsIn the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors, Labute is equally accomplished as a playwright. His work extends from the critique of false religiosity in Bash to examinations of opportunism, irresponsible art, failed parenting, and racism in later plays likeMercy Seat,The Shape of Things, The Distance From Here, Fat Pig, Autobahn,and the very recentThis Is How It Goes and Some Girls. In films he has also directed adaptation of his play The Shape of Things, as well as the more commercial Nurse Betty and Possession. His collection of short stories, reminiscent of the ethical concerns in his plays, is titled Seconds ofPleasure. Like David Mamet, an acknowledged influence on him, and Conor McPhereson, with whom she shares some stylistic and thematic concerns, LaBute tends to polarize audiences. The angry voices, violent situations, and irresponsible behavior in his works, especially those focusing on male characters, have alienated some viewers. But the writer's religious affiliation (he is a Mormon) and refusal to condone the actions of his characters suggest he is neither exploitive nor pornographic. As Ben Brantley identifies, LaBute's plays and films make a consistent attack on "the moral flabbiness, selfishness and all-around nastiness of the male species, whether at work, at home or at play" which indicates a "probing moralism as fierce as that of Nathaniel Hawthorne." This casebook explores the primary issues of the writer's style, themes, and dramatic achievements. Contributors describe, for example, the influences (both classical and contemporary) on his work, his distinctive vision in theater and film, therole of religious belief in his work, and his satire. In addition to the critical introduction by Russell and the original essays by leading dramatic and literary scholars, the volume will also include a bibliography and a chronology of the playwright's life and works.