''Wrecks'' is a

one-man play A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

Neil LaBute Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best-known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, '' In the Company of Men'' (1997), which won awards from the Sundance F ...

, that was commissioned and produced by the Everyman Palace Theatre in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The play was a part of the city's Capital of Culture programme in 2005.LaBute, Neil
''Wrecks''
''Wrecks: And Other Plays'', Macmillan, 2007, , pp.3-4

Productions

''Wrecks'' premiered in the United States Off-Broadway at the

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American ...

on October 10, 2006 (September 2006 in previews)

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

"Neil LaBute's 'Wrecks', Starring Ed Harris, Begins at Public Theater"
playbill.com, September 28, 2006 and closed on November 19, 2006.

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award ...

starred in the Everyman Palace Theatre production and reprised his role as "Edward Carr" Off-Broadway, with direction by LaBute. ''Wrecks''
lortel.org, accessed May 9, 2015 ''Wrecks'' was produced at the Geffen Playhouse, Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

in February and March 2010, with Ed Harris again playing the role of "Edward Carr".McNulty, Charles
"Review. 'Wrecks' at Geffen Playhouse"
''Los Angeles Times'', February 8, 2010

Concept

The plot centers around a man, Edward Carr, coming to terms with the death of his wife, and the dark secret that brought them together.

Critical reception

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

wrote in his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'': "The whole raison d’être of this slender, prickly tease of a monologue, which opened last night at the Public Theater with an expert performance by Ed Harris, is a last-minute revelation meant to induce gasps of both shock and admiration for its having been built so neatly. Whether you gasp or merely sigh wearily will depend on your familiarity with, and fondness for, the prolific Mr. LaBute’s bleak moral vision of humankind."Brantley, Ben
"Theater Review. Suspicious of Life, Keeping Its Secrets"
''The New York Times'', October 11, 2006

Awards and nominations

The Off-Broadway production received nominations: 2007

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

, Outstanding Solo Show; 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Solo Performance (Ed Harris); and 2007 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Solo Performance (Ed Harris).

References

{{reflist Plays by Neil LaBute 2005 plays Plays for one performer