''Bug'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

by American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Tracy Letts. Exploring themes of

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy conce ...

and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a neg ...

, the play tells the story of a woman who, as she spends time with a newly acquainted man in her

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

room, starts sharing more and more of his paranoias. It premiered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

1996, and was also performed around the United States between 2000 and 2004. The play was adapted into a film of the same name directed by

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the " New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in ...

in 2006, with Letts writing the screenplay and

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

, who had played the male lead role of Peter in the original London production and in some American versions, reprising his role.

Synopsis

Most of the play takes place in a seedy

room. Lonely cocktail waitress Agnes lives there, hiding from her violent ex-husband Jerry Goss, an ex-con. One night, her lesbian biker friend R.C. introduces her to Peter, a

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

veteran who might be

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...

. She gets involved with Peter, who grows increasingly paranoid about the war in Iraq, UFOs, the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Ter ...

of the federal building, cult suicides, and secret government experiments on soldiers. He eventually draws Agnes into his delusions. The play explores issues of love, paranoia,

, and Agnes's slow descent into

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

under Peter's influence.

Production history

London premiere

The play originally premiered at the ''

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlainn ...

'' in Notting Hill, London, England on September 20, 1996. The rehearsals were at A Red Orchid Theatre in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

.PerformInk.com: "Bug, Killer Joe's Dysfunctional Relation, Makes its Midwest Debut at A Red Orchid", by Lucia Mauro
* Shannon Cochran - Agnes White *

- Peter Evans

American premieres

Following its London run, the play made its U.S. debut at

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County, New York, Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca m ...

, followed by the

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provokin ...

in Washington, D.C. In Washington, DC, the play underwent a series of revisions and received an American premiere at

in March/April 2000. *Opening Date: March 18, 2000 *Closing Date: April 16, 2000 *Director: Wilson Milam *Deborah Hazlett - Agnes *Eric Sutton - Peter *Steve Schmidt- Jerry *Kate Eastwood Norris - R.C. *Brian Hemmingsen - Dr. Sweet The play's Chicago Premiere was at A Red Orchid Theatre, where the play first rehearsed prior to its world premiere in London. *Opening Date: August 20, 2001 *Closing Date: October 28, 2001 *Director: Dexter Bullard * Kate Buddeke - Agnes *

- Peter *Guy Van Swearingen III - Jerry * Robin Witt - R.C. *Troy West - Dr. Sweet

Off-Broadway

* Barrow Street Theatre,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

*Opening Date: February 29, 2004 *Closing Date: January 30, 2005 *Director:

Dexter Bullard Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dexte ...

* Shannon Cochran - Agnes *

- Peter *Michael Cullen - Jerry *

Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon comedy-drama series '' Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supporting roles in films '' Dan in Real Life'' ...

- R.C. * Reed Birney - Dr. Sweet

Amanda Plummer Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), '' The Fisher King'' (1991), '' Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hung ...

resigned from the Off-Broadway premiere 24 hours before its February 21 start date. A notice in the theater box office warned that the show contained nudity, violence and cigarette smoking.

Australia

The play premiered at The SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross, Sydney, in May 2010, as part of Griffin Theatre Company'
Independent Season 2010
in conjunction with Picture This Productions. *Opening Date: 12 May 2010 *Closing Date: 5 June 2010 *Director: Anthony Skuse
Jeanette Cronin
- Agnes *

Matthew Walker Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

- Peter * Jonny Pasvolsky - Jerry *

Catherine Terracini Catherine Terracini (born c. 1982) is an Australian actress and producer born in Lake Como, Italy. She is the daughter of opera singer and artistic director of Opera Australia, Lyndon Terracini and arts administrator Elizabeth Terracini. Cather ...

- R.C.
Laurence Coy
- Dr. Sweet

Film adaptation

A film version of the play was released in 2006 from

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquarter ...

. It was directed by

, and starred

Ashley Judd Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonn ...

, Harry Connick, Jr and

. Friedkin contacted Tracy Letts after having seen the play, and they cooperated on a screen adaptation. Friedkin described the film as "the most intense piece of work I've ever done". Michael Shannon had played the part on stage. Lionsgate wanted to cast an actor with more name recognition, but Friedkin was determined to have Shannon perform in the film, saying he brought a unique quality to the part.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

{{OBIE Plays 1996 plays Plays by Tracy Letts Obie Award-winning plays American plays adapted into films