Playwright LaBute has trilogy of work at Unity

Acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and film director Neil Labute is currently having his latest theatre work toured across the UK which visits Liverpool’s Unity for two nights in February.

Audiences in the region will be able to watch a trilogy of his work that combines the British premiere of his latest piece, The Furies, with the sell-out hit Helter Skelter/Land of the Dead, which appeared at The Bush Theatre in London.

Within the trilogy, Labute charts the trajectories of three different couples. He said: “There is a common love of language that I share with English audiences. From experience I am now confident that there is no place too dark or too wordy for UK theatergoers to follow me to. The main and perhaps only criteria is that the work is good and singular and, above all, necessary. The same qualities I strive for every time I sit down with my little notepad in some corner of a room as I scribble away, watching another ‘useless’ short play spill out of my pen. So it goes.”

In Helter Skelter, a husband and wife meet in a New York restaurant to take a break from Christmas shopping. He doesn’t know that she has already seen him today. In Land of the Dead, also set in New York, a different couple part. He goes to the office, she visits a clinic. In The Furies, two lovers meet to talk about ending their relationship, but it’s not easy with a surprise guest. As events unfold, it becomes clear that this is not a day these three couples will forget.

The trilogy is being directed by Patricia Benecke with cast members including Patrick Driver, Frances Grey, and Stuart Laing.

It is currently visiting Clwyd Theatr in North Wales, following a visit in Colchester, before visiting Coventry, Liverpool, Bath, Plymouth, Glasgow, London, Stockton, Newcastle, Salisbury, and Harrogate.

The trilogy visits Liverpool’s Unity Theatre on Tuesday 2 February and Wednesday 3 February. Call 0151 709 4988.