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.