Contemporary New York playwright Neil Labute is one of my favourite writers. He has an impressive body of work including the films ‘Nurse Betty’ and ‘In the Company of Men’, and one of my favourite plays ‘The Shape of Things’, which the Sydney Theatre Company presented in 2003. Now the Sydney Theatre Company is presenting his new work ‘Fat Pig’.

‘Fat Pig’ continues LaBute’s tradition of writing confronting work. The playwright tells a simple story. Tom is an ordinary thirties something man who has a romance with a Helen, a pretty looking woman who is very obese. Tom’s peers don’t approve of him becoming serious with such an overweight woman, and put pressure on him to leave her.

There have been many films and plays that have explored the rich emotional territory of couples exploring unconventional relationships. Two films that come straight to mind are ‘Harold and Maude’, and the late German filmmaker Rainer Fassbinder’s searing ‘Fear Eats the Soul’.

LaBute’s play hits the bullseye, emotionally speaking. He sees his characters with an unfinching eye. In the media release LaBute is quoted as saying- ‘my characters are desperately human- they want to have convictions but, in the end, they would rather be liked or get their needs met’. In ‘Fat Pig’ the main character, Tom, is found wanting.

Peter Evans production of ‘Fat Pig’ went for one hundred unrelenting minutes, with the cast clearly emotionally engaged . At curtain call Katrina Milosevic still had genuine tears in her eyes.

James Saunders gave a tremendous performance as Tom, who just didn’t have the guts to follow through his on own convictions.

Katrina Milosevic gave a very affecting performance as optimistic, high spirited Helen who is, finally, let down.

Ed Wightman convincingly played Tom’s cynical work colleague Carter. Carter delivered one of the most scathing quotes in the play,- “peope are not comfortable with difference you know? Fags, retards, cripples, fat people, old folks, even. They scare us or something…we’re all just one step away from being what frightens us, what we despise so…we despise it when we see it in anybody else’.

Felicity Price played Jeannie, another of Tom’s cynical , pushy colleagues. I found her performance just a little too stagey.

Summing up, ‘Fat Pig’ was a bit of a sad night in the theatre, starkly revealing the less appealing, spineless aspects of human behaviour.