Reasons to Be Pretty
In the course of these conversations, you realize anew what a sensitive ear Mr. LaBute has for the uncommonness in common speech — of the individuality within everyday language — and for how people of all levels of education and eloquence use words as instruments of power... What makes this play resonate is less its Big Theme — beauty (or lack thereof) and its discontents — than how that theme illuminates the insecurities of people who don't feel they have much to offer the world... reasons to be pretty is in part about learning to listen.[3] In reviewing the Broadway production for the New York Times, Brantley said, "Even more than when I saw it last June, reasons flows with the compelling naturalness of overheard conversation" and concluded, "It's never easy to say what you mean, or to know what you mean to begin with."[4] In 2011 it was produced in London at the Almeida Theatre with a cast including UK actress Billie Piper, Kieran Bew, Siân Brooke and Tom Burke.The Australian premiere took place in May 2012 at the Darlinghurst Theatre in Sydney, directed by National Institute of Dramatic Arts graduate James Beach and starring Andrew Henry.The first Canadian production was presented in Montreal, at Théâtre La Licorne, from November 19 to December 14, 2012 with Quebec French translation by David Laurin and direction by Frédéric Blanchette.