Last Updated on March 14, 2026
Shocking shorts
The America on view in Neil LaBute’s trio of short plays that make up Chapter 1 of America the Beautiful is a disquieting, ugly place. LaBute (In the Company of Men, The Shape of Things, Fat Pig) has often been badged the great misanthrope of the American stage and screen, and his reputation will not be alleviated by this production.
America the Beautiful encompasses nine short plays written over the last ten years by LaBute for the
LaBute New Theater Festival in the United States. The plays have been grouped into three chapters, the first two playing at Islington’s King’s Head Theatre and the final one at Greenwich Theatre. Marking the first outing for the latter’s new producing arm, Greenwich Theatre Productions, Greenwich’s artistic director, James Hadrell, directs America the Beautiful across all three chapters. A fresh young cast of four plays all the characters in the three collections.
The three one-act plays in Chapter 1 mine perturbing sides of the human condition. Characters display self-hatred, plan acts of murder, make excuses for their sins and manipulate others. No one has a name; everyone is a vessel for the exploration of flawed human behaviour.
Hate Crime is first up and is a ghastly dip into internalised homophobia, greed and lack of empathy. It is well-played by Liam Jedele as the nervy wannabe murderer and by Borris Anthony York, fey and compliant. However, Hate Crime ultimately leaves one baffled about the connection between these two men and the nature of their relationship.
In the moments between the end of Hate Crime and the beginning of Kandahar, actor York performs a lovely act of theatrical trickery. He changes not only his costume but his whole physical and vocal bearing to the extent that one is left wondering if it is the same actor. Kandahar is a one-man play in which a misogynistic soldier attempts to excuse his way out of responsibility for an initially undisclosed crime.
The Possible might be viewed as a simple experiment or a masterclass in amoral seduction methods. In the former case, just because something is possible, does that mean one should keep pursuing it? In the latter, at what point does the romantic or sexual pursuit of another person tip away from the acceptable? Anna Maria makes a convincing seductress, and Maya-Nika Bewley a good, gentle foil.
All three plays in Chapter 1 of America the Beautiful begin in the middle of something and slowly reveal their plots. It is hard to feel sympathy for La Bute’s nameless troubled characters and, if there is a flaw in this trio of plays, it’s that they lack a good shot of humanising light and shade. These are not pieces for anyone seeking a life-affirming night out. They are, however, mysteriously and grimly gripping, and we left the theatre with plenty to talk about on our way home.
Theatregoers in search of a further delve into human folly can see Chapter 2 of America the Beautiful at the King’s Head, followed by Chapter 3 across town at Greenwich Theatre. Examples of what is to come include a first date going disastrously wrong in Great Negro Works Of Art and a life-drawing model who turns the tables on the artist in Life Model. It sounds like there is scope for more gruelling viewing ahead for LaBute fans.
Dates
9 March – 21 March Chapter One & Chapter Two
King’s Head Theatre, 116P Upper Street, Islington Square, London N1 1QP
31 March – 4 April Chapter Three
Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8ES
Check our previews for more Off West End Theatre
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