reasons to be pretty

by Neil LaBute

RESOURCE PACK

REASONS TO BE PRETTY

Welcome to the Almeida Theatresproduction of Reasons To Be Pretty.When Greg is overheard admitting that his girlfriend Stephis no beauty, but that he wouldn't change her for the world,a chain of events begins that sees his world and hisrelationships completely reshaped. He is confused andcant see what hes done wrong, but Steph is devastated:she doesnt want to be with a man who doesnt think shesbeautiful, whatever she may think of herself. Meanwhile,Greg's best friend Kent alternates between boasting abouthow gorgeous his wife, Carly, is and chasing after a hotnew colleague.

Reasons To Be Pretty is the final part of Neil LaBute's trilogyabout society's obsession with looks following The Shape ofThings, which received its World premiere at the Almeida in2001 and Fat Pig, which was a West End hit in 2008.Reasons To Be Pretty makes for a powerful finale to thisbody of LaButes work, taking a striking story about abreakdown in personal relationships and fuelling it with thepotent issue of our very identity that pervades society as awhole.

Reasons To Be Pretty examines our perception of beauty andasks whether it is as much of a curse to be conventionallyattractive as it is to be considered ugly. It asks whetherbeauty itself is important, or if its import is in thejudgment itself. In a world where appearances are used asbenchmarks of achievement or at the very least thefoundation of a judgment about who or what anotherperson is, Reasons To Be Pretty questions the veryjudgments we make. It is a play as much about hearsayand misunderstanding as it is about trust and love - theelements that go into achieving that trust and love, thefoundations of human relationships.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Almeida Theatreand hope that Reasons To Be Pretty will entertain, challengeand inspire you and your students to experience further thepower of live theatre.

Charlie PayneNatalie Mitchell, EJ TrivettAlmeida Projects

For more information about Almeida Projects and our recent work please visitalmeida.co.uk/education

Billie PiperPhoto: Keith Pattison

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1 Resource Pack: Reasons To Be Pretty

HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE PACKThis Almeida Projects Resource Pack aims toprovide an insight into our process of taking theproduction from research stage to performance.We hope you will use it to help you in your owninvestigations into the play both before andafter your visit to the Almeida Theatre.

The pack is divided into four sections: the firstcontains detailed information on the plot andcharacters to refresh your memory of the play inthe classroom. The second containsproduction-specific articles on the creativeprocess, with exclusive input from the artisticteam. The third section provides context bycovering background material and themes fromthe play. The final section contains suggestionsof practical exercises for drama teachers to use,to enable students to explore the play in furtherdepth, in the classroom and beyond.

LEARNING AREASThis Resource Pack is not curriculum-specificbut may be of particular use in the followinglearning areas:

Drama or Theatre Studies English Literature

This Resource Pack intends to supplementthe academic study of by providing context-specific information about the AlmeidaTheatres production of the play, covering thefollowing areas:

Staging and world of the play Production-specific research and context Rehearsal process

This pack will also contains the exercisesincluded in Almeida Projects IntroductoryWorkshop for Reasons To Be Pretty forindependent use in the classroom and beyond.

Production Credits 3Production Synopsis 4Characters 5Plot Summary 7Design 20Interview with Designer 22

Neil LaBute 28LaBute on Reasons To Be Pretty 30Neil LaBute Interview 32In the Rehearsal Room 36

Beauty 43The Golden Ratio 45Scopophilia and The Gaze 46

Practical Exercises 47Script Extracts 50

Almeida Projects 56

Contents

2Resource Pack: Reasons To Be Pretty

Reasons To Be Prettyby Neil LaBute

Kent Kieran BewSteph Sin BrookeGreg Tom BurkeCarly Billie Piper

Director Michael AttenboroughDesign Soutra GilmourLighting Mark HendersonSound Fergus OHareCasting Suzanne Crowley and

Gilly PooleDialect Penny DyerFight Director Terry KingAssistant Director Natasha Nixon

Production Manager James CroutCompany Stage Manager Laura DraperDeputy Stage Manager Helen SmithAssistant Stage Manager Annique ReynoldsCostume Supervisor Fizz JonesWardrobe Supervisor Eleanor DolanWardrobe Deputy Charlie DamigosChief Technician Jason WescombeLighting Technician Robin FisherSound Technician Howard WoodTheatre Technician Adriano AgostinoStage Crew Jack Harding and

Tony ForresterProduction Carpenter Gruff CarroSet built by Miraculous EngineeringSet painted by Charlotte Gainey and

Natasha ShepherdStage Management Work Liz Carr

Placement

ALMEIDA THEATREArtistic Director Michael AttenboroughExecutive Director Julia PottsArtistic Associate Jenny Worton

ALMEIDA PROJECTSDirector of Projects Samantha LaneDirector of Projects EJ Trivett

(maternity cover)Projects Co-ordinator Natalie MitchellProjects Administrator Charlie PayneProjects Admin Assistant Sarah Tarry

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Production Synopsis

Scene 1Steph and Gregs bedroom. They argue about Greg calling Stephs face regular, reported to Stephvia Carly; she is hurt and angry. Steph walks out on Greg.

Scene 2Break room at the workplace of Greg, Kent and Carly, a warehouse packing food. Greg tells Kentabout his argument with Steph. Greg confronts Carly about telling Steph what she overheard.

Scene 3Caf in a shopping mall. Greg and Steph are meeting for the first time since she left him. Stephreads out a long letter to Greg, in which she outlines all his physical flaws.

Scene 4Break room at work. Carly and Kent flirt. Kent tells Greg about his infidelity with the new girl, Crystal.

Interval

Scene 5The lobby of a restaurant. Greg bumps into Steph. Both are meeting people. They probe whethereach other is on a date. Steph slaps Greg.

Scene 6Break room at work. Carly and Greg talk about Kent. Carly admits she is pregnant and suspects Kentof having an affair.

Scene 7Baseball field. Greg tells Kent he will no longer cover for his infidelity to Carly. They argue violentlyand Greg leaves, refusing the play in the important ball game.

Scene 8Break room at work. Greg tells Carly to go home to surprise Kent on his day off. Steph comes to tellGreg she is engaged to her new boyfriend.

NB: The printed text contains four monologues, one by each of the characters that occur as follows.These have been cut from this production of Reasons To Be Pretty, but are included in the plotsummary for reference.

STEPH (between Scenes 2 & 3): She tells us that she is hurt, but she accepts who she is as a person.

KENT (between Scenes 4 & 5): He tells us about the downside to having an attractive wife. He showslittle respect for her inner beauty or person.

CARLY (between Scenes 6 & 7): She tells us about the disadvantages of being attractive, and knowingshe is judged only on her looks.

GREG (after Scene 8): He tells us what he has learned from the experience with Steph. He has goneback to college and feels he knows how to treat women better.

A detailed plot summary follows.

Production Synopsis


GREGGreg works at a factory packing food, where hepredominantly works the long night shift. He isfriends with colleague Kent, and the two of themspend their breaks together, although the two menare very different. Greg is overheard by Carlydefending his girlfriend Steph, who he believes is nomajor beauty but that is not important in his love forher. The misinterpretation causes Steph to leavehim. Greg has high standards, but a tendency to driftalong. He loves reading American classic literatureand tries to better himself. In reality, he knows hehas no real qualifications and that his life is notquite as he imagined it would be. He tends to stepback and remain passive in conflict situations, whichis often interpreted as apathy or nonchalance. Gregdoes not like to fight.

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STEPHSteph is Gregs girlfriend at the start of the play, butthe opening scene sees them break up after Greg isoverheard calling Stephs appearance regular. Stephis not unattractive, but her looks are not what isimportant to her. She knows she may not be themost clever of people, and has no greatqualifications, but she is happy with her lot andcontent within herself. However, she cannot bear tobe with someone who does not find her attractive, asit gives her an insecurity complex. Steph works in alocal beauty salon. She is good friends with Carly butnot close to Kent. Steph has a tendency to over-reactand can be quite argumentative, often pushing apoint so far as to create conflict.

I'm saying, even if I was not cute, unattractive by world standards,don't I wanna be with someone who finds me beautiful?

Steph

...the honest thing about this is, I think Im a better man now, afterStephanie. I really do. Not, like, awesome or anything, but at leastgood, maybe.

Greg

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Characters

KENTKent is Gregs best friend. He is a chauvinist andvalues women predominantly on their physicalappearance. He is often derogatory when talkingabout women. He lives with Carly, and he findshaving a beautiful girlfriend can make him worryabout keeping her, as other people are looking at hertoo. However he still looks at other women and isunfaithful. He does not think highly of Carlys mind,but her looks are very important to him. He is a bullyand tends to be arrogant and unkind. He is nointellectual and criticises Greg for wanting to betterhimself through reading; he thinks Greg thinks he isbetter than him because of this. He has recentlybeen in trouble at work and wants to work more toearn more money.

CARLYCarly is Kents girlfriend. She is an attractive womanand she receives a lot of attention from men, whichcan make her feel uncomfortable. She believes thatbeing beautiful can be difficult for a woman. Sheworks as a security guard for the factory where Gregand Kent also work. She knows she is attractive tomen and she can also be manipulative of people.She is not a very intuitive person, or academicallyminded, and can come across as insensitive towardsother peoples feelings. She stirs up trouble (ofteninadvertently) between Kent and Greg. It is Carly thattells Steph about overhearing Greg say that she isnot beautiful. Greg thinks she is a trouble maker andthe two of them have never particularly got on well.

I'm very attractive. I am. I've always been that way but it's no greatbig deal to me--if anything, it's worked against me for most of mylife.

Carly

Ive got a job in some warehouse and a limited number of skills anda Chevrolet that Id like to take a blow torch to... thats my life inthe foreseeable future.

Kent

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Sin Brooke and Tom BurkePhoto: Keith Pattison

Scene 1The play opens in the midst of a blazing argument between Greg and Steph, in their bedroom. Stephis confronting Greg about a conversation he had about her with his friend Kent. This conversationbetween Greg and Kent had been overheard by Kents girlfriend, Carly, who in turn reported what sheheard to Steph. Greg is trying in vain to defend himself, but Steph is furious and presses him further,accusing him of lying, back-pedalling and concealing the truth of what he said about her: in short, sheaccuses him of calling her ugly. He denies saying the word ugly itself. He tries to get out of theargument, wanting to go to bed, but Steph is relentless. She will be late into work, if it means thatthey get to finish the argument.

Greg is confused and cant quite see why Steph is so angry, he cannot see what hes done wrong. Hetries to explain to Steph how he saw his conversation with Kent. He also expresses his dislike of Carly,who he feels acts like a cop all the time, interfering. Everything Greg says winds Steph up more, andhe is unable to placate her rage he tries to quiet her down, fearing the neighbours hearing theirargument. Greg finally recounts his version of events: Kent was telling him about a new girl at workthat he thought was very attractive, and Greg agreed that she was pretty. Steph asks him if hecompared her to the attractive girl; Greg denies this. He instead said that whilst Steph may have aregular face, he wouldnt trade her for a million dollars. Gregs story confirms what Carly told her.She is hurt and angry that he thinks she is just regular, whereas e thinks of another woman asbeautiful. Greg insists he meant what he said as a compliment, but unfortunately this is not howSteph sees it. Incensed, she throws an ashtray across the room at him, and storm out. Greg is leftalone, shell-shocked.

Scene 2At work, Greg and Kent are sat in the break room of their workplace, finishing their lunch. They areon the nightshift and it is just after midnight; they are both tired. Greg is explaining to Kent whathappened the previous evening, his argument with Steph.

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Kent begins to criticise Greg for eating an energy bar, andtells him to think more about his body if he wants to lookgood if he gets fat, Kent says, it wont help his chanceswith winning Steph back. Kent talks about the attractivenew girl, commenting on her looks. Kent then says he iswaiting for Carly, whos doing a security round. Greg tellsKent that Carly annoys him he feels that she screwedhim over by telling Steph what she overheard. Gregasserts strongly that hed never go behind Carlys back inthat way. Kent leaves for the toilet and Greg waits forCarly to arrive. Alone, Greg clears up Kents litter.

Carly enters, wearing her full security uniform. She stopsshort when she see Greg. Greg explains that Kent is inthe toilet. Carly sits down to eat, and Greg takes out abook and begins to read. Carly watches him and Gregtells her hes reading a book by Poe. Carly doesnt knowwho that is. Greg tells her the book is quite dark, but shetakes him literally, and comments that it is night. Gregtries to explain but gives up. The atmosphere betweenthe two of them is tense.

Greg approaches Carly, and confronts her about hertalking to Steph. Carly denies doing anything wrong; shetells him that Steph has called her, that morning,because she wanted a friend to talk to. Steph said manythings about Greg, and she was upset. She reveals thatSteph had also handed in her notice from her job. Carlythinks Steph has every right to be upset with Greg,because of the things he said about her. Greg defendshimself strongly, insisting that what he said about Stephwas a loving thing. He tells Carly not to look sotriumphant, he admitted that he was sorry andapologised to Steph, but that she didnt listen. Gregbegins to get angry with Carly, as he thinks more is goingon than she is revealing it dawns on him that Stephhas left him completely and is not coming home. Greggoes to grab Carly, but she shakes him off; then theyboth freeze as Kent walks back in the room.

Kent asks what is going on, and tells Greg to back offfrom Carly he has done enough damage already. Gregand Kent need to get back to work, but before they do,Kent and Carly have a kiss and cuddle; Greg is forced towatch, uncomfortably. Carly leaves.

Kent comments on Carlys bottom, he thinks it isamazing. Greg agrees it is nice, but tells Kent not to besuch a dick about it. Greg still thinks Carly has a badattitude; Kent says this isnt important, so long as shelooks good. Greg apologises for things getting heatedwith Carly earlier. Kent says he is 100% behind Greg; hesays he only put up a show of telling Greg to back off togive Carly the impression he was on her side. Kentactually thinks both Carly and Steph are behaving

Kieran BewPhoto: Keith Pattison

Why'd you say it?! Right backat you, ok? Why would you eversay a thing like that aboutsomeone... and particularly aperson you supposedly love.(BEAT) I'm sorry but nobody,no-body, even the most cluelessof guys, is gonna make thatkind of mistake. You were beinghonest..

CarlyScene 2

I'm not this person who getsoff on looks or the more, like,physical side of men even,but when it's the other wayaround...shit, you know? Ittotally hurts.

StephStephs Monologue

stupidly, but hes not willing to fall out with Carly, so thathed have to cater for himself without her doing it. Kent pullsout a Readers Digest and Greg criticises his low qualitychoice of reading material its essentially a TV guide, not abook. A loud buzzer rings calling both men back to work.

Stephs MonologueSteph talks about how she feels about what has happenedwith Greg. He has hurt her, because she believes he does notlike her face. She accepts that she may not be a traditionalbeauty but that she is happy with how she looks. But shedoes not want to be with a man who thinks she isunpleasant to look at or even worse, sits on the fenceabout her appearance. Whilst Steph says she does not findlooks in men particularly important, but when she is in thesituation where shes being judged, it feels horrible. It makesher feel physically sick to think of her body being judged byGreg. She rejects the notion that Greg meant what he saidabout her to Kent as a compliment. She admits that maybeshe does not have that much going for her, as shes not themost intelligent or beautiful person; but she is happy withwho she is and she knows she has to protect that.

Scene 3At a caf in the shopping mall, Greg sits waiting at a table,checking his watch. There is a bunch of flowers on the table.After a moment, his mobile phone rings. It is Steph, as sheis on her way to meet him.

Steph arrives and they greet each other awkwardly. Greggives Steph the flowers and she takes them. Steph tells Gregshe needs to come to their apartment to remove the last ofher things, and she wants him to be out when she does this.She is currently staying with her parents. Greg is calm andaccepts this, offering to stay out of the way. He asks Stephhow things came to this point. She replies simply that hesaid some unpleasant things, and their splitting up is theconsequence. She is not going to forget about what he saidor change her mind about this. Greg is very confused by thewhole situation. Steph tells him that the situation hasopened her mind to a lot of the faults with her life, a numberof things she is unhappy with. She does not want to talkabout this further with Greg.

Greg suggests they go for lunch, but Steph turns the offerdown. Steph becomes quite angry, rounding on Greg forthinking that everything is suddenly ok. Greg insists he reallycares about her, believes she still cares about him and hefinds all the situation baffling. Steph tells him to stop tryingto put words in her mouth. She very clearly spells out thatshe wants Greg to leave her completely alone, to let her startagain in a new relationship and move on. It is completelyover between them. Steph begins to cry; Greg tries to movecloser to comfort her but she pushes him away.

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But come on, I didnt...Stephanie, lets be serioushere. Alright? Lets. (BEAT) Isaid one little thing. A stupidthing, I know, I agree withthat, but... its...

GregScene 3

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Steph recover her composure a little and asks to borrowGregs keys to their flat as she has left hers at home. Sheremoves the key from the keyring and promises to leave itunder their doormat. She tells him she will also pick up hercar while she is at the flat, so they do not have to meet again.Greg is making a good attempt at staying cool, which angersSteph further as she feels he is being very casual about it all.Greg tells her he does not know what he can do, or how heshould act. He just wants her back. He makes a commentabout remembering cuddling her from behind them in bedand she interprets this as an insulting way, that he does notwant to look at her face. He cannot say anything that placatesher mood. She throws his keys back at him, hitting him hard.Angered and hurt, he tells Steph to get her stupid face outof there. She is furious and takes this as confirmation that hehas always hated her; she does not see it as a light matter.

She takes out of her purse a letter she has written to Greg,that she reads out, loudly, whilst a small crowd gather at thespectacle. In the letter, she pulls apart his physicalappearance, and criticises his looks, their sex life and many ofthe physical aspects of their relationship. She says she neverthought he had a great body and how some of his mannersannoy him. The letter goes into great detail about hisshortcomings physically, and finishes with her feeling that hedoes not listen to her about any of this. Greg is dumbstruck,and asks if she genuinely means all of that. She says shemeans it all, but it didnt matter in their relationship becauseto her, love is blind she could feel all that and still love him.

Greg is in denial that their relationship is completely over,that this is happening to them. He tells Steph he has alwaysliked her face it is really cute, adorable. Steph rejects the

Tom Burke and Sin BrookePhoto: Keith Pattison

I've never thought you had agreat body, it's ok, butnothing really special and Ihate how you walk around -not just at home but outsideduring the summer or at thegym; a lot, anyway - like youare super cute or something,like you have all thesemuscles and a nice stomachor whatever, you don't.

StephStephs Monologue

Billie PiperPhoto: Keith Pattison

compliment its too late. She tells him she madeeverything up in the letter to Greg, but it hurts because hemeant truly what he said about her. She screws up theletter and throws it on the floor. As she leaves, she tellsGreg she is taking the television, which she bought withher own money anyway. Greg, left alone, picks up thecrumpled letter from the floor and reads it.

Scene 4At work, in the break room, Carly and Kent are sat at atable, eating. Carly watches as Kent keeps checking thetime. He tells Carly that he has a lot of work to do tonightand he wants to give it his best shot as he is trying toget more overtime, he wants to be seen to be a goodworker. He remarks that Carly likes the extra money. Carlyretorts that everybody likes money. Kent says that is nottrue and Carly asks him to name one person who does notlike money, and presses him to get to the point. Kent istrying to make the point that his working hard and wellmeans they have more money to buy more things. Kentteases Carly and she tells him he is like a child; shebecomes quite angry with his immature attitude. Shethreatens to go back to her station so she doesnt have tosee him. Kent placates her his boss Rich has beenkeeping an eye on him lately and that is why he iswatching the clock, to avoid any trouble; he would neverpick work over Carly. Carly is duly placated, and they kissand cuddle.

Greg enters and they stop. Carly leaves instantly, without aword to Greg. Alone together, Kent tells Greg that Carly isangry with Greg because of loyalty to Steph, who it isrevealed has moved away for a while. Greg takes out abook and begins to read; Kent asks him about it. Gregtells Kent that its Hawthorne some early AmericanGothic literature. Kent grabs the book and inspects it.Kent comments on Carlys actions, and the men consolethemselves on the unfathomable: women. Greg says heis fed up with women. He reveals that he has got his carback from Steph; Kent asks if she had caused it anydamage he would expect that she might do somethinglike that after how she left Greg.

Kent continues to check the time, and is clearly waiting forsomething; he is reluctant to reveal to Greg what this is.They discuss a company baseball game they are bothplaying in, but Greg is distracted by Kents anxiety. Hepresses Kent to reveal what he is waiting for, as he isclearly very on edge. Finally, Kent reveals that he is waitingfor Crystal, the attractive new woman he has mentioned inprevious scenes. He shows Greg a picture of her on hismobile phone, and reveals that he has been seeing her forover a month. He asked her out for a drink after she cameto one of their baseball games. Greg is unimpressed andasks if Crystal knows about Carly. Kent tells him that its all

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One day they're gonna savea little time and just stickthat in the dictionary. Justthe word, no definitionnecessary, and any guy whostumbles across it'll just rollhis eyes and know what thehell it means. (BEAT)Women.

GregScene 4

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square with Crystal that she likes the idea of competition.Kent comments on Crystals age 23, and says her looks areonly starting to fade a little, but she is young and has greatskin. Greg chastises Kent for his attitude. He makes to leave.Kent swears him to silence, and Greg agrees, though hisattitude towards the whole situation is aloof andunenthusiastic. He tells Kent to be careful, that he knows it isnone of his business, as he has a lot of his own issues to dealwith. Kent agrees that Greg indeed has a lot of problems atthe moment and tells him everything is fine between him andCarly. In fact, his affair with Crystal is making things evenbetter between them. He admires Crystals knockout looks, herbeautiful face. Greg tries to leave to get back to work. Kentpresses on admiring Crystals physical appearance. Gregremains evasive. Once again, before he leaves, Kent swearsGreg to keep his affair with Crystal secret.

Alone, Greg tries to read, but he cannot concentrate.

Kents MonologueKent talks about the issues with having an attractive wife itsnot always as good as you might think, he says. Whilst he canenjoy her appearance, he also feels the pressure to keep herbecause all these other men will be having the same fantasyabout her. He talks about his humiliation of having her work inthe same place, as a security guard. She got the job, headmits, partly because of her looks, as it was felt she gives agood first impression of the company to visitors. Kent actuallythinks Carlys job is a bit laughable and simple. He does notbelieve she could protect them or ensure their security, if therewas a serious problem she just carries a set of keys and aflashlight. The fact that they work in the same place alsobothers Kent because he feels he has to constantly watch

Kieran Bew and Tom BurkePhoto: Keith Pattison

It's interesting, having awife who looks the way minedoes. Attractive, I'm saying.It really is. It's probably notwhat you'd think it'd be, allgreat and wonderful at everyturn of the road; it has it'sdisadvantages, believe youme.

KentKents Monologue

himself, and who hes talking to. He bemoans the lot life has given him he has a menial job in awarehouse, a limited number of skills and he does not see much changing in his future. But hesoptimistic, and the events of late (implying his affair with Crystal), have brought some excitement tohis life, and he is going to see what benefit he can make of it.

Scene 5At a restaurant, in the lobby. Greg stands, waiting, checking his watch a couple of times. After amoment, Steph enters, walking fast. They see each other and stop cold. After a brief silence they greeteach other awkwardly they are at the restaurant separately and are very surprised to see each other.They clumsily try to establish why the other person is there, fishing to see if either is on a date. Stephtells Greg she is here with someone, but not anyone he knows; she remains cryptic. Greg in turn tellsher he is meeting people from work, not a girl. Steph suggests she is meeting a man, but it is justdinner. They both remark on how they like the restaurant, and wonder why they did not come herewhen they were a couple. They reminisce on some of the places they used to go to together.

There is a brief and awkward pause, where neither of them are sure what to say next. Steph says sheshould probably go back, as she was only visiting the bathroom, and doesnt want to give a bad firstimpression. Greg is holding back, but it is clear he is uneasy with the situation of Steph being here ona date with another man. Steph tries to get him to admit as much but instead he wishes her well andhopes she has a good time. Steph bats this away as ungenuine, criticising Greg for not being able towish her well. Greg tells her he cannot find the right words, he is not deliberately being abstruse.Steph tells him she is trying to move on after being hurt; she cannot understand why Greg finds itimpossible to be happy for her. Greg feels it is too early, as he is still hurting and did not want theirrelationship to end. He tells Steph to go back to her date and he can continue to wait for his friends.Steph insults him. She can see him judging her appearance and doesnt like it. Greg wonders why shewants such approval over her looks. Greg says she looks beautiful tonight, but she did not dress likethat when they were together, so it is an insult that she is dressed up so specially for tonight, whereashe is wearing his usual attire.

Led on by this, Steph is suspicious and Greg admits that he too may be on a date; he is beingintroduced to a new girl by some friends. Steph too, now that the upper hand is not all hers, is evasive


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aryand cool. Suddenly, she reaches across and slaps Greghard across the face. Then she glances around, feeling abit ashamed. She apologises to Greg and tries to look atwhere she slapped him, but he pushes her away. Gregbecomes angry and tells Steph she will realise what shehad with him when her next relationship goes wrong andsomeone else treats her badly she will hopefully realisethat what Greg has supposedly done was not bad. Gregsays that when his friends arrive they will go somewhereelse, for Stephs sake and his own. He doesnt want anymore problems between them and their dates tonight.They part amicably Steph wishes him a good eveningand Greg tells Steph she looks attractive in her dress. Shesmiles as she leaves, and he watches her go.

Scene 6At work, Carly is sitting at a table eating her lunch whenGreg walks in. He has his lunch in one hand and a book inthe other, with a pair of goggles on his head tonight. As hesees Carly he stops cold. He turns around about to leavebut Carly calls his name. They greet each other coolly. Sheasks what he is reading; he tells her it is a book by Swift.He asks how she is, and she tells him she is tired from herlong night shift but otherwise fine. Greg tells her she willget used to the routine. Greg asks after Kent, as he is notin work tonight; Greg reveals that he has not seen Kentvery much recently. Carly tells him that Kent has movedover to working days; it is not as much money but hehoped to pick up more overtime this way. Greg issurprised that Kent did not tell him this.

Greg prepares to leave, but Carly invites him to sit withher. He insists he is very busy but Carly reveals she wantsto talk to him. Greg sits and takes out his lunch; he sayshe is terrible at making it himself as Steph always usedto do this for him. Carly asks if he has seen Steph recently.He tells Carly about their two encounters, first at the cafwhere she delivered her diatribe against him, and secondat the restaurant where she slapped him. Carly is unsurewhat to say but then bursts out laughing. Greg feelshumiliated. Carly compliments Gregs sense of humour she has always found him funny. Greg wonders at thiscompliment Carly has not said three kind words to himsince Steph left him, but now she is being very friendly.

Carly wants to ask Greg something about Kent. Greg is alittle uneasy. She reveals to Greg that she is three monthspregnant. She and Kent are very happy about this. Shefeels many different things at the moment but she doesnot, somehow, feel safe. Greg asks her why, but Carlyturns the question back at him. Greg suspects Carly doesnot trust Kent, and asks her about this. Carly admits that afew little things have made her uneasy: Kents change ofroutine and how he is often out of their house when shecalls him although he says he is sleeping, the

Billie Piper and Tom BurkePhoto: Keith Pattison

I'm trying to look pretty,alright?! I'm trying to makemyself feel better because myformer boyfriend - this guy thatI gave a whole lot of my heartto - couldn't find me attractiveand now Im left wonderingwhat's wrong with me. Why Iwas so unappealing to him...

StephScene 5

neighbours have told her that his car is sometimes away. Shehas real doubts. Greg tells her not to worry about Kent, thatit is probably nothing to be concerned about. Carly tells himto look her in the eye and say that he knows nothing iswrong, that Kent is not seeing another woman. Greg feels hehas been put in a no-win situation; Kent is his friend, and hedoes not know everything that is going on when they are nottogether, nor does he know the inner workings of his friendsmind. Carly cannot ask him about what Kent is thinking,because he is ignorant here.

Carly speculates: if she was to find some real evidence ofKents infidelity, such as a receipt, what should she do aboutit? It is important to her because she is carrying their baby.She asks Greg what he would do in that situation. Gregreplies that he would ask outright for the truth, and beprepared to hear it. Greg is very uncomfortable and tries tolighten the subject. Greg congratulates her on the baby, andmakes to leave. He knows Steph will be really pleased, andCarly confirms that she already knows.

As Greg leaves, Carly again stops him cold, and asks himdirectly for the truth about Kent. She has found a receiptfrom a restaurant. Greg tells her that he was there with Kentthat night, the same night he bumped into Steph at therestaurant. They were there with friends of theirs from theday shift who they do not see often they were all men,eating together after the ball game. Carly wonders if Kentwould say the same thing if she called him now. Shesuddenly bursts into tears, but then falls into laughter. Sheapologises to Greg for her suspicions and her erraticmood. The scene ends with Carly wondering why God madeit so hard for women to trust men.

Carlys MonologueCarly talks about being an attractive woman, and the difficultythat can bring. She believes it has worked against her formost of her life. She recounts an example of being followedaround a supermarket by a man, who tried to talk to her andthen followed her to her car, and then all the way back to herhome. She found it upsetting and frightening, and it madeher physically sick. She says this happens a lot. And sheknows it is not because she is a clever or has a greatpersonality: it is purely because of what she looks like, herface. Carly understands that people will think she is lucky forhaving a beautiful face, but she acknowledges that beautycomes with a price, just like ugliness does. She reveals thatshe has cried herself to sleep because of who she is, just assomeone who is not attractive may have done. Thesethoughts occupy her mind a lot when she is at work, whenon a very long shift as she has time on her hands to think.

Scene 7At the baseball field, Kent is dressed for practice and iswarming up with some stretches. After a moment, Greg

I don't know why God hadto make it so, like... hard totrust you guys. But he did.And it sucks...

CarlyScene 6

Listen, Im not saying Ididnt get lucky in many ways, I do get that, I do, Ijust want folks to know that beauty comeswith a price, just like uglydoes.

CarlyCarlys Monologue

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enters and begins a half-hearted warm-up. Greg asks Kent about his new working hours, and wonderswhy Kent didnt tell him before. Kent dismisses this it is not like they are in a relationship. Hechanges the subject, saying how much he is looking forward to the ball game its an importantplayoff. Greg asks Kent if he is happy, about Carlys pregnancy. Kent remarks thats shes getting a bittubby, though he will put up with it for now, so long as she hits the gym and gets back in shapestraight away after the baby is born. He says that Carly knows this too she knows that her looks areall shes got going for her. He compares beautiful women to athletes. Greg changes the subject to askif they have thought of any names for the baby. Kent reveals that the baby is a fucking girl.

Kent thanks Greg for covering to Carly about Crystal, as it has given him the chance to carry on seeingher. He is enjoying the thrill of their affair. Greg is reticent and tells Kent that he does not think he cancover for him any more. He asks Kent not to ask him to do this again its not that he cannot, butthat he will not. He felt really awful when he lied to Carly and he does not want to be that kind ofman. Kent twists the situation to implicate Greg as already in the thick of it, as he has already liedonce to Carly, and he claims Greg helped his affair with Crystal happen in the first place, byencouraging Kent to go for it. Greg denies this responsibility, and asks Kent to make his ownjudgments on his own conduct. Kent tells Greg not to judge him, even though Greg denies doing this.Greg tells Kent to keep his problems with Crystal and Carly to himself he does not want to knowabout them.

Kent becomes angry with Greg and turns on him. They argue and there is a stand-off. Greg sizes Kentup but backs off. He is not scared, but does not want to fight, and is man enough to walk away fromit, although Kent goads him on. He accuses Greg of being a faggot and a coward. Greg is fed upwith putting up with Kents attitude towards him a decade is about his limit. Kent thinks Greg hasnot got the courage to do anything about this, as he is so desperate to be liked. He accuses Greg ofthinking himself better than Kent because he reads clever books. The men fight, Kent grabbing Gregand pushing him to the ground. Kent moves to punch Greg but eventually just pushes him away. Hetells Greg he does not care what he thinks. Greg is amazed that Kent would round on him, like a bigbully. Kent starts insulting Steph, calling her ugly he never understood what Greg saw in her. Gregwarns him to stop, but Kent continues. Greg turns on Kent, and throws his glove at him. He takes hisbaseball hit off and walks away from the game, leaving the side a man down and at a disadvantage.

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Tom Burke and Kieran BewPhoto: Keith Pattison

Kent is outraged and tries to persuade him to stay their argument stays off the field. Suddenly Greglashes out at Kent, throwing a number of punches that take Kent by surprise, and he falls to theground. Greg gathers up his kit and leaves Kent in the thick of a violent tantrum.

Scene 8At work, Carly is sitting in the break room, eating by herself. Her pregnancy is showing a little by now.She gets up to leave, as Greg enters with his book. He smiles at Carly and the have a short hug as theygreet each other. Greg asks how she is feeling. She telly him she is feeling the weight of the pregnancy,and feels like the size of a cow, but otherwise OK. Carly asks after Gregs black eye; he tells her it wascaused by an accident. As Carly leaves, Greg tells her she is the most beautiful cow out there, and asksher not to forget it; Carly thanks him.

After a pause, Greg asks Carly if she has any sick time built up to use. He suggests telling hersupervisor that she is feeling unwell, and go home to surprise Kent. He suggest doing it tonight, rightnow. Carly studies him curiously, and then agrees. She leaves.

Alone, Greg sits down with his book and begins to read. After a moment, Steph appears. She isdressed up smartly. She greets Greg and he tells her she has just missed Carly. Steph asks about whatGreg is reading its Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. She reveals that she has come to see Greg,not Carly. Greg looks at her but she cannot meet his eye; she asks him not to stare at her. Greg repliesthat he likes looking at her, and always did. Steph does not believe this and Greg tells her that is justher interpretation and not true at all.

Steph starts to explain why she came to see Greg, and he takes her hand he has seen that she iswearing an engagement ring. Steph is very happy with her fianc, and Greg says he is happy for her.Steph reveals that he is called Tim and works with computers. Greg tells Steph he is thinking aboutgoing back to school to get a degree, as he doesnt want to work at the factory all his life. A loudbuzzer calls Greg back to work.

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Kieran Bew and Tom BurkePhoto: Keith Pattison

Greg reaches over to Steph and touches herengagement ring. Steph tells him they have not set adate for the wedding yet. Greg hopes he will be invited.They ask each other how they are, in a friendly way.Greg tells her that he is no longer playing baseball withthe team, and that he thinks he may have ruined Carlyslife by sending her home to surprise Kent. Steph thinksthat is not the case it will be something a long timecoming and she will benefit from it in the long term;Steph thinks Carly will be fine because she is a strongperson. Greg agrees, he has come to realise this too.

Greg compliments Stephs appearance again and shethanks him. She tells him that it was hard to come tosee him, to tell him about her engagement, but Gregwas in her head the minute Tim proposed to her. Shewas so used to once being married to Greg, and maybepart of her is still hoping that Greg would sweep her offher feet to win her back. Greg reiterates that the wholedrama of their relationship break up was caused bypure misunderstanding. That does not matter, repliesSteph, because she feels breaking up was the rightthing to do anyway. The incident and argument thatensued caused her to realise that their relationship wasfar from perfect, and would not have worked in the longterm. Greg agrees, and although he loved her, believesthey were drifting along. He is now searching forsomething different, a real change in his life. They agreeon this.

Greg tells Steph that their relationship was special, andit was never about physical appearance for him. Stephthanks him for this, but now she feels very specialbecause she has a fianc who lights up whenever helooks at her and makes her feel beautiful. Greg is happyfor her, genuinely. As Steph leaves, they share a tendermoment, where they nearly kiss. Steph begins to cry,but grabs her belongings and leaves. Greg moves to thewindow to watch her leave, in the car of her new fianc.He sits down and begins to read again, but cannotconcentrate. He rests his head in his hands, as abuzzer in the background calls him back to work again.

Gregs MonologueA final moment with Greg, in which he delivers amonologue directly to the audience. Greg talks aboutwhat he has learnt from the whole experience withSteph. He has learnt not only that beauty is just skindeep, but that it also may not actually exist it is just amirage. Beauty is something with no real value, and yetwe chase it so intensely. It is just a small par of who aperson is and should not be of any consequence, yet itis, and obsession with appearance pervades all ofsociety. Greg tells us that he is now taking a

It wasnt your face; I man,just so you know. I wasntever this, like, ass manor, some legs guy I likehow you looked. Period.

GregGregs Monologue

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Carly knows thats allshes got going so shesgonna take care of it. Herlooks. Dude, beautifulwomen are like athletes:couple good years andthen the knees go.

KentScene 8

Humanities elective at college, and he recounts an experience he had in class previously. He waslooking at a painting of Venus by Velasquez, and it made him think of the subjective power of beauty how everyone has a different perception of what beauty is. It struck him that this was what he hadbeen trying to explain to Steph, that we should not worry about being beautiful because it does notmatter; however he came across as the bad guy in the situation.

Greg believes the truth is that what happened with Steph has made him a better, improved person.He has become less judgmental about people and he knows how to treat women better.

A bell rings in the background and Greg checks his watch. He reveals that Steph got married twoweeks ago, and he was invited. He sat with Carly and her daughter. Kent did not attend. He remarksthat Steph looked great and glowing walking up the aisle, and they shared a moment where theylocked eye contact. As she passed him, he whispered to her that she looked really pretty, and her eyesthanked him. He wonders that what he really has taken from the break up with Steph is therealisation that taking time to be nice to people is so important because life really is too short. Theplay ends with Greg confirming his belief that it does not take much effort to be kind to people everyonce in a while.

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We all have a different perception of what real beauty is. Isnt thatfunny? Hes saying its subjective and that none of us are wrongitsjust about personal feelings and stuff. And, see thats all I was evertrying to say to Steph.

GregScene 12

Design is one of the most thrilling aspects of theatrecraft. The look of a show helps to set mood,atmosphere, time and place. Design elements forany production include set, lighting, sound andmusic.

At the Almeida Theatre the set design is the first and last thing theaudience sees. As soon as the audience enters they can see the setand this, together with any sound effects, or music, will begin todetermine how they will experience the production. This initialimpression helps to set the tone for the story to come.

The designer, therefore, has to consider what impression he wantsto make on the audience before the play begins. The designer willlook for clues in the play text and will liaise with the director andthe playwright about these.

There are also practical considerations for the designer, such ashow big the stage is; what kind of flexibility is required in terms ofentrances and exits; and whether the play is set in a specific timeperiod. The designer often has to be very creative designing a setwhich calls for several different locations.

Designing for the Almeida TheatreThe Almeida Theatre was not purpose-built as a theatre so doesnot have the specialised architectural features which typify mostpurpose-built performance venues: a flytower, orchestra pit, wings,offstage area (indeed our back stage is actually sub-stage in theexcavated basement directly below the stage floor). This meansthat our designers and production teams have to come up withingenious solutions to create innovative sets in our found space.The building is famous for its large curved brick wall at the back ofthe stage. This feature of the building is used as part of the setdesign for many of the Almeidas productions. Even when theactual wall is not visible in the set, the brickwork is often echoed asa feature in the design.

A BRIEF HISTORY:The Almeida Theatreseats 325 people, andre-opened in 2003after extensiverefurbishment. Thebuilding dates back to1837, and wasoriginally the IslingtonScientific and LiteraryInstitution. During thewar it was used as aSalvation ArmyCitadel, and was latera toy factory, before itwas converted into atheatre in the late1970s.

Almeida Theatre - empty stagePhoto: Lara Platman

Design


The set for Reasons To Be Pretty is designed by Soutra Gilmour.

At the start of rehearsals, designer Soutra Gilmour spoke to us about her design for Reasons To BePretty, explaining her inspiration behind the look and feel she has created for the production. Increating a design, the designer and director will have lengthy discussions about what they want theset design to achieve, and the designer will bear in mind both practical and thematic or aestheticqualities to reach the end result.

In designing the set for Reasons To Be Pretty, Soutra had three main considerations that she perceivedthe design needed to deal with. These were: practicality; visual balance; and meaning in relation to theplay. The first, practicality, is a common feature of all Almeida Theatre designs, and a major concernfor all designers working at the theatre. With no wing space, the Almeida stage places restrictions ona design especially if multiple locations are needed; and the action of Reasons To Be Pretty shiftsbetween a number of environments, between twelve relatively short scenes. There is a strong elementof televisuality about the script, in this sense, and the design therefore needed to facilitate fluidity ofmovement between scenes and a set that could move between separate spaces effectively andsmoothly. Reasons To Be Pretty, like much of LaButes work, is a fast-moving, up-tempo play withquick-fire dialogue. The impact and speed of delivery is designed to take maximum impact on theaudience, where ideas are developed in rapid succession, and the audience are constantly keptengaged and on their toes. For this reason, the need for the design to be able to absorb this pace is atits core. As much of the play is set in the warehouse where Greg, Kent and Carly work, the design tookan element of this as its focus, placing a shipping container centre stage, amid a bleak and minimalbackground. The shipping container revolves, and can be positioned at multiple angles, to createmultiple locations; furthermore, both parallel sides of the crate open out, revealing rooms inside firstly Steph and Gregs bedroom, and then repeatedly the workplace break room. This is both a spacesaving device and a facility to allow maximum variety of location. Additionally, pieces of set can behung from or swung out from parts of the container to add further realistic detail for example themall caf scene sees a serving hatch and canopy; the restaurant foyer gives us some greenery andglass detail. Whilst the container itself remains, ostensibly, a container, the detail added within and

Reasons To Be Pretty Set - Break Room Model BoxPhoto: Soutra Gilmour

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outside is realistic, and particularly in the interiorscenes, inside the container, draw the audience in, and awhole new space is delineated.

Once the main outline for a design was established,further detail could be added; and Soutras secondconsideration was to balance the mundane ugliness ofthis manufacturing or warehouse environment theshipping container with the beauty of the Almeidabuilding. Soutra felt that the difference between textureand style would be further juxtaposed by making thecontainer appear metallic, to contrast to the barebrickwork which is still visible. The set, apart from thecontainer, is kept bare aside from the other containerswe can see in the wings, which add to the factory floorfeel. It is almost positioned like an installation in thespace at once acknowledging the presence of the setitself, and the environment in which it is contained.

The final consideration was one of ensuring the setitself bore some meaning in relationship to the themesand issue of Reasons To Be Pretty the play. To this end,Soutras design adds fine realistic finishes to the detailwithin each scene down to the break room walls or theornaments in the bedroom, the football field scoreboardor the chairs and tables of the mall caf. These gems ofdetail as Soutra termed them, highlight little spots ofrealistic beauty, within a largely symbolic, brutal andindustrial-looking set, calling on the idea of beauty beingfound anywhere where you look hard enough. This ideais developed even further in the concept of having theshipping container open out to reveal beautiful orcomfortable environments within beauty found on theinside.

The crate itself is not actually on a revolve, but is movedby stage crew, alluding to the manual labour undertakenon a daily basis by Kent and Greg in the warehouse whilst we only see Kent and Greg in relatively staticscenarios, on their breaks, the movement of the heavycontainer reminds us the audience of the strenuousnature of their employment as blue collar workers, andits continual reoccurrence further reminds us also thatthis is what they do all day every day.

All these three elements are crucial in the design ofReasons To Be Pretty and make the set more than justthe place on which LaButes words are performed.Design can be an innately theatrical experience,enhancing and enriching a text.

Reasons To Be Pretty Set. Top to bottom: pre-set;bedroom (Scene 1); mall cafe (Scene 3)Photos: Soutra Gilmour

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ner Almeida Projects spoke to Designer, Soutra Gilmour, about her design conceptfor Reasons To Be Pretty,and the process of bringing it to the Almeida stage.

Almeida Theatre: How did you approach the design process for Reasons To Be Pretty?

Soutra Gilmour: For Reasons To Be Pretty, the design process started back in the summer. Originally Iwas talking to Neil [LaBute] about it. Wed worked together earlier in the year on his production of Ina Forest Dark and Deep so we had an experience of working together and of knowing each othersaesthetic. I suppose we have quite similar things we like and are interested in. In a Forest Dark andDeep was in some ways very simple because it was one space one cabin in the woods. Coming toReasons To Be Pretty was a whole different ball game. The first thing youre struck by is the multi-locational quality of it. Thats something that you often get in a set, but there was something quitespecific about the different locations [in Reasons To Be Pretty] it wasnt the kind of play where youcould say, OK, well have an empty set and one chair in the middle of the room and well just keepimagining a new space each time. There was a sense that those spaces needed some of the kind ofnaturalistic detail of the coffee machine in the break room, the shelf with trophies so that you hadthe context of each of the rooms.

So I suppose the first part of the design brief to myself, was something that could allow us to do allof those things and quickly, with fluidity, so as not to hold up the action. The second part of thebrief I gave myself was how to make a play that had, theoretically, quite a Mid-West, modern, blandaesthetic sit in the Almeida with its old brick walls, and its beautiful soulful space. And how to makethose two things make some sense together.

I latched onto the core space in the play: the break room in the warehouse. Of course it could havebeen a modern air-craft hanger kind of warehouse, but because we were in the Almeida I chose tomake it an old brick warehouse. The aim was somehow to use the Almeida as the shell for the wholeplay and then find a kind of unit in the middle that could keep changing, evolving. I collected lots ofimages of all sorts of things, warehouses and industrial spaces. And then one of the things thatreally struck me, that I got excited by, was the idea of the shipping container and the fact that it was asculpture that could sit in the space andmake the whole space a warehouse. Butalso it has an interior, a room inside it, toallow it to become the bedroom, or thebreak room, all of the rooms that weneeded.

So I started with this idea of having thisone single box in the space, with aconcrete floor. Then I started to work onwhat might be inside the box and how theit might be used. Some of the rooms wereeasy: there was a bedroom and there wasa break room. Both those spaces havequite big, unwieldy furniture objects. Atfirst I wasnt sure whether the objectswould be inside the box, or whether theywould pop up through traps. By workingthrough the problems and what weneeded in each scene, we realised that theinside of the box could be divided into ourtwo main interior spaces: the bedroomand the break room. The break room wecome back to four times in the play, so itwould have been a complete pain to keep

The storage crate in constructionPhoto: Soutra Gilmour


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resetting a kitchen, a coffee machine and shelves of trophies. So it was brilliant to have it all storedinside the box.

So wed sorted the bedroom and the break room, but then we needed all the other spaces which weremore tricky the caf and the restaurant. So we started to find other ways of playing with the box: ofpulling out canopies for the caf, pulling out sliders with doors in them for the restaurant, using thesimple box shape as the edge of the baseball field, so it acted as a porter cabin or a changing room atthe edge of the field.

The box also needed to move so we would have access to seeing inside the two rooms. So then wehad the idea to have a manual revolve, operated by the crew on stage, so that it had that feeling ofwarehouses and manual work so the crew are like people who might work in the warehouse.

AT: How much have you been involved in the rehearsal process, with Director Michael Attenborough,and how has this affected your work?

SG: Through the rehearsal process, we had to work out how not only the box moves, but how theactor find him or herself inside the box. Maybe they have to get themselves ready for the next sceneas the box is revolving, or maybe a piece of furniture needs to be moved for the actor to access theaccess door in the box. As well as the actors inside the box, there were stage managers too,manipulating various things that were happening: popping up tables or moving things out the way sothat access door into the box was free for people to come in and out ready for the next scene. So wethen had to create this quite complicated scene shift document, detailing exactly what happens duringevery scene change.

We wanted a feel that theres a sense of surprise about how the box keeps adjusting itself, changing,or moving the scene on. Something thats so simple in shape can allow us to be in all these differentplaces, as quickly and efficiently as possible. Obviously the Almeida is quite a particular space itsquite tricky to bring lots of furniture on and off as theres no wing space; and because its quite a lightspace even getting full darkness is quite tricky. It was about making those transitions as fun andinteresting as possible.

AT: Reasons To Be Pretty has previously been staged in New York. Did you see any of the previousproductions?

SG: I dont really look at previous productions. Its not very often that you would look at someoneelses designs. For new plays, you cant; And for classic plays, theres not much need to - you canenvisage what other people might have done with previous Hamlets. But Reasons To Be Pretty issomewhere in between, because it is a new play, but not a premiere. This was quite specific so I didlook at past productions for this play, including production shots and photos of the model box fromthe New York production. Its an interesting quandary: inevitably you want to do something different,but that could make you start doing things for the wrong reasons. You have to follow your personalreactions to the play you might pick up on something someone has done but thats probablybecause its right.

I think this is a particularly tricky play to design which is why I was interested to see other peoplesresponses. And also its an American play set in a very specific part of the world that has its ownaesthetic. I was interested to see how American productions handled that, because obviously itsmuch more their part of the world than it is mine.

AT: Does the writer or director ever say what they want you to pick up in the script or are you givenyour own space to have your personal reaction?

SG: All directors are different in terms of what they want from designers. In this particular instance,up to the point we got to the rehearsal room, it was very much driven by my impulses. And then from


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ner then it was very much the kind ofreaction to things that Ive done like,

could we have a bit more spacehere or could the restaurant feel alittle bit more like an Italianrestaurant? So it was very muchspecific feedback to the overall ideaId given.

Sometimes its the opposite sometimes a director has some veryspecific images that they imaginethroughout the piece, but they dontnecessarily know how to get from Ato B so your role is about makingthe arc between the images. Withother directors, Ive got an openbook, and I can come with my ideas,my response to the script and startthe dialogue from there. Thats greatas it allows the most personalreaction to the work and thereforeyouve got the strongest connectionto it. Its very difficult for a designerjust to respond to someone elsesideas, because theyre not inherent to you.

AT: What is it like designing for the Almeida Theatre as a specific space? What differentiates it fromother theatre spaces?

SG: All spaces are different really. The hardest spaces are black spaces thats difficult in itself as itsharder to respond to the room. I quite enjoy proscenium arch spaces where the set ends and thetheatre starts, with that whole relationship given by the threshold line between the audience and thestage. At the Almeida that threshold is a given: theres not fixed stage, the audience wraps around thestage. But its also a sort of proscenium arch, but it isnt hard here at the Almeida in the way that itcan be with some more gold, ornate framings. What is tricky at the Almeida is that you cant get awayfrom the nature of the space. You can put anything in a black box and it will work Im not sure thatsthe case with the Almeida. Its got so much personality, such specific colour and architecture andsuch a particular relationship between the stage and the audience. I think you have to make a delicaterelationship between those things and not sit something too incongruous against it. Thats my firstreaction to the space - its my first time working here.

AT: Even though the play has a Mid-West American setting, Neil LaBute doesnt tie it to a specifictown or city. Did that help you, or was it something to overcome?

SG: When I first did the design I referred to those classic boring postcards of hotels and canteens inAmerica in the 1950s. That classic, generic American architecture is what Neil was asking for, by notbeing specific. Its fairly temporary, new architecture, that doesnt pertain to a specific place - mallsare the same in Ohio as they are in Seattle or Dubai. Whilst on the surface, its a bit boring, its alsovery accessible and instantly recognisable, and sort of without class. I dont know if thats somethingNeil thinks about at all but its quite interesting in terms of our imaginings that America is a placewith less class division. These are the kind of middle-of-the-range places that everybody goes to. Theydont have the sense of a poor part of town or a rich part of town its just the mall. It allows it to berecognisable America which is useful for an English audience its the place we imagine America tobe. Even if, in fact, America is not that.

The storage crate in construction - door detailPhoto: Soutra Gilmour


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AT: You might imagine being a setdesigner is quite creative. But do youactually have to have quite amathematical mind to work outexactly how things are going towork?

SG: Its fairly basic maths. I alwayssay that doing set design is afascinating job because youre totallya jack of all trades and a master ofnone! You have to know how to do alot of things like make modelsbased on ideas, draw technicaldrawings, and when you first startyou have to be able to paint andbuild things. But youre certainly nota master of any of those. Throughyour career you learn more and moredetails about all of those things, butalso more and more details aboutwhat other people need from youand what their responsibilities are.Whats absolutely amazing to me is,as a designer, youre probably the

only single person who works with absolutely everybody involved in the production. Its very rare, forexample, for the director to have anything to do with the set builder. Whilst the director in some waysappears to be the person whos holding it all together, its actually the designer who works with thedirector, the stage manager and production team carpenters, set builders, painters, costumedesigners, the writers, the actors.

This means you have an amazing eye view on the whole process which I think is one of the things Ilove about it so much. But it also means that you have to work out how everybodys process works.The longer you work, the more you pick up the various skills bases and start to really understand whatit is all those people need from you and how best to get what you need to do your job. So whilstabsolutely youve got to know about maths, you dont need to know about maths in the same way as aset builder does: I dont need his sense of engineering particularly on a set like Reasons To BePretty, which has complex engineering. Ive got to know its going to work, and Ive got to have a goodsense of how it might work, otherwise it would be foolish to hand it over to the set builder and saycan you make that work please? In the process of designing and model making Ive worked outquite a lot of how its going to function but then you go into the detail of that with the set builder. Theset builders and I had a long session going through all the various issues, and then made all theadjustments we needed to do to the design to complement the engineering.

SB: In this production, how involved are you in the costumes?

SG: Completely involved in the costumes thats my job, to design set and costumes. The thingabout costume, particularly with something as modern and current as this, is that you very muchdiscuss it with the actors. Its got to be character-led, so I didnt need to do drawings beforerehearsals. At the end of the first week of rehearsals, I had a discussion with the company and talkedthrough character details the world of the play and the relationship to the characters. Its to do withtheir emotions and personality its not about whether theyd wear pink or green. From there, theCostume Supervisor and I go off shopping and then we have fittings where weve got a load ofdifferent things which we try out. Its a process of elimination really. Its completely different if youredoing a period drama then you need to design costumes and do drawings. In modern drama, we all

The set in construction - floor detailPhoto: Soutra Gilmour


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ner know so much about the clothes: we know what clothes mean and we make choices about people allthe time based on their clothing and we understand the language of that. Its really key to make sure

actors are really comfortable about who they are and what theyre wearing and they know thecharacter more than you.

AT: How do you know when youve done your job well? What does it add to the production whenyouve done your job well?

SG: It really depends on the production. You want the design to absolutely hold, enhance and framethe production, whilst absolutely not getting in its way, slowing it down, or overwhelming it. Theresthe classic saying, the best design is when nobody notices it. I dont believe that because I getexcited by visual stuff: I do want to notice the design. I think its really important to have bold andexciting things on stage because its a visual medium. But absolutely dont want it to hinder or get inthe way of the action and fluidity of the piece. And you certainly want it to be a pedestal for the actorsand the action, rather than the sculpture itself.

AT: For Reasons To Be Pretty, are there any things that you hope people will or wont notice about thedesign?

SG: I hope we get from one scene to another really quickly! And that when weve got to each newscene theres enough detail in it that you can be absolutely sure of where you are thats theres abalance between getting enough stuff on stage, but we havent held up the action by getting toomuch on. I think thats the tricky thing about this production I want those transitions to feel funand part of the action, but not to become boring or laborious or time consuming.

AT: How have you approached the monologues, as part of the set design?

SG: Were using the box in three or four different ways for the monologues including Kent sitting onthe roof for his. At that point maybe its a container, maybe its a wall, maybe its just a mind space. Ithink thats one of the things thats exciting about good design is that you create a space thatstransformable. So whilst this is absolutely a shipping container, at some points it becomes all theseother spaces: it has that transformative quality. But equally just as itself as the box sometimes youcan feel its there, sometimes its not. Its just the right balance of real and unreal that allows it tobecome just the mind space for the monologues.

Thats always the line youre playing with in theatre whether its reality or poetry. I think thats reallyinteresting not least because were having a real experience in real time. There really is a box in thespace, there is someone sitting on it, but were in an artificial narrative, which is not in the Almeida.The set has to allow you to fly with that, and not bog you down too much: it needs a lightness oftouch.

The set in constructionPhoto: Soutra Gilmour


Neil LaB

uteNeil LaBute is an Americanplaywright, screenwriter and director.Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1963, hehas been writing for theatre and filmsince the late 1980s.

LaBute grew up in Spokane, Washington andstudied Theatre at the Brigham YoungUniversity, Utah. While studying at BYU LaButeformed a friendship with actor Aaron Eckhartwho has since appeared in a number of LaButeslays and subsequent films. BYU is known to be aconservative religious university, and several ofLaButes plays that he staged there during thecourse of his studies were shut down by theinstitution. LaBute was not deterred by this andcontinued to write and stage his own work;indeed BYU recognised his talent, honouringhim as one of the most promisingundergraduate playwrights of his cohort. Upongraduating, LaBute also did graduate work at theUniversity of Kansas, New York University, andthe Royal Academy of London. He was alsoawarded a literary fellowship to study with theRoyal Court Theatre.

LaBute now works across both film and theatre. He is well known for his multi-award winning 1997film In the Company of Men. Although a number of his plays have been filmed and LaBute hasworked as screenwriter and film director he still feels more at home in the theatre.

As a playwright LaButes work is heavily dialogue-led, driven by manipulation of language. His workoften displays quick-fire dialogue, rhythmic patterning and use of contemporary and colloquialvernacular. On the page, he is noted for his use of the slash ( / ), indicating where dialogue shouldoverlap thus mimicking realistic speech patterns. His dialogue is also distinctively American,although it is characteristic of him not to specify exact locations.

Stylistically, LaBute has acknowledged that he was influenced by some of Britains leading playwrightssuch as Edward Bond, David Hare and Caryl Churchill. However, his writing can be comparedstrongly to that of his contemporary and one of his favourite American playwrights, David Mamet.Thematically, too, LaBute and Mamet bear similarities, in a concern with male/female dynamics inrelationships in society, gender politics and political correctness. LaButes work, like Mamet, hasoften been criticised for its misogynistic overtones, and moreover, critics have noted he has amisanthropic leaning. Both these criticisms LaBute denies he believes his work is concerned withuncovering some of the darker sides of human nature, holding up a mirror to the more unpleasantaspects of human behaviour.

Reasons To Be Pretty is the third in a trilogy of plays concerned with societys attitude towards physicalappearance, following The Shape of Things and Fat Pig, the latter of which received its premiere inLondon in 2008. This issue, of societys unhealthy quest for physical ideals, is one that LaBute feelsgreat concern towards, and has called it a tyranny on society both men and women. All threeworks explore controversial elements of this argument, about gender politics, what society deems itis acceptable to say (or not), and ultimately about the futility of basing judgments of people on theirphysicality.

Neil LaButePhoto: Bridget Jones

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LaButes most recent play to be premiered in London before Reasons To Be Pretty was In a Forest Darkand Deep, which ran at the Vaudeville Theatre from March to June 2011. Like Reasons To Be Pretty, Ina Forest Dark and Deep is also set in the Mid-West of American and also concerns the deceptivenessof appearance; yet it is rather more an exploration of truth and moral values. It also draws on thethemes of sibling encounters and revisiting childhood that LaBute explored in his previous AlmeidaTheatre production, In A Dark Dark House.

Neil LaBute has had a long relationship with the Almeida, and its Artistic Director, MichaelAttenborough, where no less than six of his plays have had their World or European premieres.Reasons To Be Pretty is the third Neil LaBute play directed by Michael Attenborough.

Selected Plays1989 Filthy Talk For Troubled Times1992 In the Company of Men 1999 Bash: Latter-Day Plays (2000, Almeida Theatre - World Premiere)2001 The Shape of Things (2001, Almeida Theatre - World Premiere)2002 The Distance From Here (2002, Almeida Theatre - World Premiere)

The Mercy Seat (2003, Almeida Theatre - European Premiere)2003 Autobahn 2004 Fat Pig2005 This Is How It Goes

Some Girl(s)Wrecks

2007 In A Dark Dark House (2008, Almeida Theatre - European Premiere)2008 Reasons To Be Pretty (2011, Almeida Theatre - European Premiere)

Helter Skelter/Land of the Dead2009 The Break of Noon Premiere

The New TestamentHelter SkelterSome White ChickThe Purple MarmosetThe Furies

2010 Filthy Talk for Troubled Times2011 In a Forest, Dark and Deep

Selected Filmography1997 In the Company of Men1998 Your Friends & Neighbors2000 Tumble (Sundance short)

Nurse Betty2001 Bash: Latter-Day Plays (TV)2002 Possession2003 The Shape of Things2006 The Wicker Man2008 Lakeview Terrace2010 Death at a Funeral

Sexting (short)

I've really enjoyed the time I've spentworking in film thus far in my career,but nothing feels like home as muchas a theatre does.

Neil LaButeInterviewed in The Guardian, 2008

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The following is an extract from Neil LaButes preface to Reasons To Be Pretty, inwhich he discusses some of the themes driving his writing of the play.

Name the asshole who first invented mirrors.

Im not actually posing that question, as I could quickly find out on my own by using my handy Googlebutton or whipping over to Wikipedia, but I havent bottomed out that far as a writer (or a humanbeing) quite yet. I still like to look things up for myself occasionally, even cracking open an old leather-bound edition of encyclopaedias from time to time to get a piece of information. I know somebodyinvented mirrors they exist, after all; no doubt someones ancestors are taking credit for the discovery but Im asking in a more general way, a sort of Why did they bother? Do we really need to seeourselves that clearly? Or at all? We see others for who they are physically, at least and yet we neveractually see ourselves outright, always catching a glance in a windows reflection or in the glimmer off alakes placid surface. But we want more. We want to know what we really look like, what people reallythink of us; if were pretty enough, good enough, the best. We are creatures of desire we want all thetime. Its endless, how much we crave things compliments and cars and lotto tickets (because if wewin well have a lot of money, and then we can get more stuff) and so we work and spend time awayfrom our loved ones, always telling ourselves that this is the way of the world and everybody does it andmy kids want it, and so life slips away. You attend your school of choice (if youre lucky), and you getyour job of choice (if youre lucky), and you slave away at it until its time to retire and somebody elsetakes your desk two days after you leave, and you go to Florida a few times, and then youre done.Gone. What will you leave behind, dear reader? Something, I hope.

Every so often I think that all thatll remain when Ive left this place is two great kids and six inches oflibrary space taken up by my published works. There is a lovely line in A. S. Byatts novel Possession thatsums it up very well: To a dusty shelf we aspire. We writers stare into a variety of mirrors, studying thefaces of people we dont yet know as we make them up, working to create a series of believablepsychological profiles for a bunch of folks who dont really exist. I prefer it to life most of the time, asits much safer and a whole lot easier. These people all seem to be the same as us, unfortunately my

Tom Burke and Billie Piper in rehearsalPhoto: Matt Humphrey


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nsflaws become theirs and their wants and loves grow out of my own, and suddenly Im surrounded bythe same miserable, lovely, lonely, sad, terrific people that I was escaping from in the first place. Andall these characters stare in their own mirrors and wonder if they too are good and pretty and smartand liked. Or at least good and pretty and smart and liked enough. Am I just pretty enough? Enoughto get by and not be laughed at, and to meet someone and be happy? All because we cant be sure,having never really seen ourselves. Those damn mirrors are of absolutely no use to us, in the end.They tell us exactly what we wish to hear everything, in fact, but the truth. What is it to be pretty?Its not beautiful, and its certainly not ugly. Why do we care about it so much? Why do we get socaught up in what other people think? Probably for the same reasons we use Google and laugh alongwhen somebody tells a joke that we dont get and all continue to go into debt but keep these stupidsmiles plastered on our faces. Because were deathly afraid of being singled out for being anything butnormal. We go to high school for three or four years, but it colours our entire lives we continue tolive some version of its schedules and cliques for the rest of our natural days. In school we were alldesperate to fit in and yet desperate to stand out; the rest of life is merely a variation of all that. Its adeadly game of push-pull.

If I could be anything but a writer and I cant, Ive tried I would be a braver person. One who justdoesnt give two shits about what other people say or think or feel; I dont think that would make mecallous or uncaring or stuck-up (to utilize a wonderfully high-schoolish word). I think it would simplymake me hold my head up a little higher, look people in the eye for a bit longer, make my smile a littlebroader (and any picture of me will attest that smiling is not my strong suit). I hope this play makes acase for being yourself and standing up for what you believe in. For being brave. For making choicesthat are hard and adult and not easy. For going out and being a part of the world instead of a mereobserver. Ive written about a lot of men who are really little boys at heart, but Greg, the protagonist inthis play, just might be one of the few adults Ive ever tackled. The play talks a bit about our countrys(and, by extension, the worlds) obsession with physical beauty, but its really the first coming-of-agestory Ive written. A boy grows up and becomes a man. I suppose every writer has one of those storiesto tell, and this one is mine. It also concerns a very blue-collar side of the work population, like thefriends and family I grew up with. I know what a dead-end job is like. I know exactly what its like to beeating your lunch at 3:00 a.m. and feeling like life as you know it is now officially over. I have aprofound respect for work and workers and communities who live from paycheck to paycheck. Theworst day Ive had writing is better than the best day I ever had working in a factory, and the peoplewho do it, year after year, because thats life, and food and rent and child support must be paid, haveall my respect. Writing is easy. Life is hard. Its more than hard its a bitch (as many bumper stickersare happy to point out for us). I suppose thats why I like the person who spends more time workingthan on Facebook, the person who gets out there and lives his life rather than blogging about it orstaring in the mirror wondering about anything so damn inconsequential as looks or hair or yesterday.The future is now. Its time to grow up and be strong. Tomorrow may well be too late.

Neil LaBute, 2008


Neil LaB

ute InterviewAlmeida Projects spoke to Neil LaBute during the rehearsal period for Reasonsto be Pretty, to ask about his work play and his inspiration behind his new play.

Almeida Theatre: Reasons To Be Pretty is the third play in a trilogy, focusing on societys obsessionwith appearance. What was your inspiration, following The Shape of Things and Fat Pig, behindwriting Reasons To Be Pretty as the third play in that set?

Neil LaBute: I wish there had been more of an initial inspiration for a trilogy but Reasons To Be Prettywas first imagined as a singular work and it was only as I began to think about it in earnest that I sawthe potential in its themes to build upon what I had already examined in the two previous plays. Oncethe idea was in my head, however, the structure, number of characters and the central male figurewere all dictated by the format I had employed in The Shape Of Things and Fat Pig. As I was writingthis final instalment in what Ive now heard referred to as 'the beauty trilogy,' I began to seeconnections (both overt and otherwise) that I didn't previously notice or at least acknowledge in thoseother stories, even though they too were concerned with body image and society's fascination with thephysical self.

AT: Did you always intend to write a trilogy about societys preoccupation with looks, and what wasthe genesis of this theme?

NLB: Im not a very good planner in any aspect of my life, so the answer is undoubtedly no. I thinkmy own interest in why people are so drawn to beauty and how that can be both a positive and anegative thing has always been there, at least as long as Ive been writing on a professional level. Thatsaid, I did not anticipate that I would return to those themes three times over the course of a decade(along with a few shorter plays and/or essays that also touch on similar themes). I guess this eithermeans that Im tenacious and love to get to the heart of the matter or I need to get out more.Whatever it says about myself and others, I know that beauty (like young and power and money andhealth) is one of those commodities that continues to fascinate and attract most of us on some level,even while it confounds us in other ways. Keats was definitely on to something but beauty is truth isonly the half of it.

AT: Do you think the audience opinion in London will differ from the reception in New York?

NLB: Yes and no - I hope audiences will accept this very American sounding play on its own merits (asseems to have been my luck in the past) but Im sure it may strike a deeper, richer chord with a home-town audience who feel even closer to the people and experiences that are portrayed in the story. Ingeneral I find London audiences sophisticated and lovers of language so it's great to put a play likethis one up on a stage in that city but I love New York crowds, whether it's at the theatre or a tennismatch, and there is an energy there that is undeniable. Im lucky to have productions in both of thosecities and to prefer one over the other is a game Id rather not play. Good is good and I think thatsimple idea rings true to me - Im in very good hands at the Almeida and so I expect the production tohave a chance at reaching the best and widest audience possible at that venue.

AT: Reasons To Be Pretty is the sixth play of yours to be staged at the Almeida Theatre, the last beingIn A Dark Dark House in 2009. Did you always intend to return?

NLB: It was very important for me to have this play presented at the Almeida - ten years ago I startedthe trilogy at the temporary home for the Almeida in King's Cross and it was a seminal experience forme. A brilliant cast and a facility that was completely unique allowed me to be a part of somethingreally special. Fat Pig played in the West End, which was very exciting as well, but I really hoped tobring this last section of the trilogy back to the Almeida where it all began. I feel extremely fortunate tohave Michael Attenborough directing my work again - he's now directed more plays of mine thananyone else in England (at least by someone who has actually paid the royalties).

AT: What is it about the Almeida Theatre that you feel suits your work and makes it a good space?

NLB: There is a wonderful flexibility to the space that has been there ever since Ive been going thereas a theatre student years ago and certainly while Ive been working there. Jonathan Kent and IanMcDiarmid set the bar very high for me and Michael has continued that tradition; its a space (likethe Donmar) that feels both intimate and epic and that curved wall of brick in the back of the spaceis really something special to me. I can actually feel the history of the place when Im in there andthe ghosts, both theatrical and otherwise, are very present. I love the whole history of the theatre andI respect it more than most things in life and the Almeida just feels good to me, like a kind of home(but one where I don't have to do any lawn work).

AT: Your work is known to be quite provocative, exposing uncomfortable truths of humanpersonalities, yet this has been described as your most empathetic play, kinder - why is this? Whathas changed for you?

NLB: Certainly nothing has changed in me as a person or as a writer - I think that what peoplenoticed in the play was a greater sense of hope (which I think Ive always had, whether you couldnotice it or not) and at least one major character (and yes, I mean a man) who finally acts like anadult for once. I've written a number of stories about boy/men, guys who can't or won't grow upand take it out on those around them in various ways, both comic, tragic and horrific. I always try tolet the play dictate the ending rather than write something that I know might please the audience. Ican't help it - I care more about my characters than I do for the people watching them. Not that Idon't like people (I do), but I figure they're mostly adults and real and they can fend for themselves;my characters only have me to watch out for them so that's what I

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