The Distance from Here

With little to occupy their time other than finding a decent place to hang out--the zoo, the mall, the school parking lot--Darrell and Tim are two American teenagers who lack any direction or purpose in their lives. When Darrell's suspicion about the faithlessness of his girlfriend is confirmed and Tim comes to her defense, there is nothing to brake their momentum as all three speed toward disaster.

No American playwright has written more compellingly about the subtle ways in which people inflict pain on each other than Neil LaBute. His films In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors both gained critical renown for their biting satire and caustic wit. Now, with The Distance from Here, he has written his most riveting play yet, an intense look at the dark side of American suburbia.

With little to occupy their time other than finding a decent place to hang out—the zoo, the mall, the school parking lot—Darrell and Tim are two American teenagers who lack any direction or purpose in their lives. When Darrell's suspicion about the faithlessness of his girlfriend is confirmed and Tim comes to her defense, there is nothing to brake their momentum as all three speed toward disaster.

Neil LaBute's first film, In the Company of Men, received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for best feature and the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival. He has also written and directed Your Friends and Neighbors and the forthcoming The Shape of Things, and directed Nurse Betty and the soon- to-be released Possession. His other plays include Bash, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times, Sanguinarians and Sycophants, Rounder, and Ravages.