After watching American playwright Neil LaBute’s new play REASONS TO BE PRETTY, directed by James Beach, I went searching for a few happy pills to take! LaBute paints a pretty grim picture of contemporary relationships.
The milieu is a shipping factory warehouse. REASONS TO BE PRETTY, set in the factory lunch room, starts with a blistering, hard hitting scene where a young woman, Steph, delivers a tirade against her boyfriend Greg after she hears from a girlfriend, Carly, that he has described her face as ordinary, ‘regular’, as in comparison with one of his new work colleagues.
At the end of her verbal assault, their two year relationship is in tatters. Greg tells his work colleague and best friend Kent about the break-up however he is blase and unhelpful. After being hit for six, Greg strives to get his life back together again, and this, in essence, is the journey of the play.
LaBute’s play is the final in his trilogy of plays, beginning with the wonderful THE SHAPE OF THINGS and then FAT PIG. The trilogy focuses on us humans’ obsession with physical appearance over more meaningful attributes. There is a very funny scene, beautifully played by Julia Grace, where Steph embarrasses her boyfriend in a shopping arcade by going through his body from head to toe and listing his physical shortcomings.
The treat in REASONS TO BE PRETTY is the richly drawn, easily recognisable characters, well performed by the cast. In the lynchpin role of Greg, Andrew Henry is a stand-out. Henry plays a regular sort of guy, a little abrasive, bookish, articulate, charming, with a quirky sense of humour. One kind of feels sorry for him and what he goes through.
Julia Grace is Steph, an attractive, feisty, volatile, highly strung and a little on the defensive side young woman. Lucy Maunder plays Steph’s friend, factory security guard Carly, who makes a poor choice in choosing Kent for a partner. Kent is a misogynistic, sleazy man, played darkly by James King.
REASONS TO BE PRETTY is a night in the theatre that will generate plenty of debate. One argument to come out of it will be,-in the year 2012, are we able to see beyond political correctness and the power of language to subvert as well to aid, and focus on what matters more in life.
James Beach’s production of Neil LaBute’s REASONS TO BE PRETTY opened at the Darlinghurst Theatre, Greenknowe Avenue, Elizabeth Bay on Tuesday 8th May and runs until Sunday 3rd June, 2012.
(c) David Kary
13th May, 2012.
Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- REASONS TO BE PRETTY, Neil LaBute, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, James Beach, Andrew Henry, Julia Grace, Lucy Maunder, James King, Sydney Arts Guide, David Kary.
