Anyone who saw Neil LaBute's Reasons To Be Pretty at the Almeida theatre is going get a big dose of deja vu when they see his latest, Reasons to Be Happy. It has the same characters, the same director (Michael Attenborough) and even one of the cast - Tom Burke - is the same. Oh, and it also has the same narrative structure. So you sit in a state of near permanent flashback.
It's all intentional, of course. Though this play is intended to stand on its own, both are part of a trilogy that is to end with LaBute's future work Reasons To Be Pretty Happy. The author has said that he wanted to experiment with episodic writing of the kind seen on television, and sure enough frustrated writer Greg (Burke), alpha-male Kent (Warren Brown), scarily aggressive Steph (Lauren O'Neil) and warehouse security guard and single mother Carly (Robyn Addison) could all populate episodes of Friends, if the series was more cynical and written by LaBute an author who forensically exposes shameful behaviour.
All four characters live unsatisfying lives suspended by unfulfilling jobs and also unrewarding relationships - largely with each other. In this "episode" the action opens with Steph and her former boyfriend Greg arguing violently (in Steph's case) because Greg is having a relationship with Carly, Steph's best friend, mother of Kent's child.
As always LaBute writes with a rare wit and intelligence. His dialogue zips along so entertainingly it almost doesn't matter that the fate of this quartet has little or no relevance to anyone existing outside it. But it does matter. His previous play was anchored by an exploration of relationship etiquette. It too opened with a raging argument triggered by Steph finding out that her then boyfriend Greg didn't think she was pretty. It was an issue that allowed LaBute to explore how profoundly important otherwise trivial epithets can be. But the dilemma here is that Greg has to choose between Steph, Carly and the right to be happy as enshrined by the American constitution. Does the right to pursue happiness allow one to cause pain in others? It's a question of only passing interest.
For all the virtues of Attenborough's beautifully acted production, this play has little more to add to the experience of living life for a few decades or more. Who among us hasn't had to weigh up the certainty of causing pain against the possibility of finding happiness? Hopefully the third episode in LaBute's trilogy will be more revealing.
