Bash: Latterday Plays

I have had the opportunity to direct this play twice in the past two years (once it was just one of the three plays), and I just can't say enough about how powerful it is. Critics of Labute say he is a mental rapist who is too dark. Read the newspapers and read this play and you will see that this isn't fiction. Like much great theatre it comments on our society and gives us pause. The characters and their situations are memorable, and Labute is a talented, tight writer.

I saw this play last night and am eagerly awaiting it to be in stock again so I can buy it. Like some other reviewers here, I too am struggling for adjectives: brilliant is the best that I can do. It's written almost tenderly-- there is no contempt for these characters although what they do does not merit our love-- and it's written incredibly honestly. It's not at all sentimental, and you will step away from it shaken. Step into this world where celebration and violence are blurred as well as the title promises.

While I hardly think homophobia and murder are confined to Latter-day Saints (I'm a member) this is still powerful, disturbing stuff. LaBute is kind of a Mormon Kubrick: with grim humor he forces you to look at things from which you would rather turn away.

I have read three plays by Neil Labute - In the Company of Men, Your Friends & Neighbours, and Bash. All three are dark and satiric, but Bash is the most chilling of them all! I enjoyed his plays in Bash because even though they are chilling and haunting, they reflect and dramatize the darkness and evil that exist in society. Labute also does an excellent job at creating complex characters. My favourite play is Medea Redux, where a woman recounts the tragic story of her relationship with her junior school teacher - her character absolutely captivated me - and the ending of the play was unpredictable.

I just put down "Bash" after picking it up an hour ago... was it worth buying?... you better believe it! Gripping is not strong enough a word to describe this play of extreme violence and dark wit. Brilliant perhaps leaves a better taste in ones mouth. Mr. Labute writes with the lyric power of Vladimir Nabokov and dramatic strength of (dare I say it) William Shakespeare. Labute is the best new playwright on Broadway since Arthur Miller (in the 50s), and "Bash" is the perfect mode through which Labute is able to tell his stories. My favorite of the one-acts is "A Gaggle of Saints," a dynamic character study that leaves you both spiting and pitying the male lead... Grrr! I still can't get over it! I want more! I only wish I went to see "Bash" when it was on Broadway this summer... oh well, I have it year-round now!