Known for his controversial but brilliant plays exploring the darker side of relationships, playwright Neil LaBute talks to MATTHEW JENKIN about his latest work and why reality is really scarier than fiction.

LABELLED by some critics as a misogynist and misanthrope, American playwright, screenwriter, author and, phew, director Neil LaBute is not afraid to delve into the murky underbelly of human relationships.

From his portrayal of two sexist businessmen plotting to seduce and destroy a deaf woman in In The Company of Men to The Shape of Things’ exploration of art, intimacy and psychopathy, Neil has a habit of looking on the dark side of life.

Three of his short plays - The Furies, Land of the Dead and Helter Skelter - will be staged at Greenwich Theatre later this month, the first of which will enjoy its British premier at the venue.

“The Furies is a look at a relationship which is in peril,” Neil explains.

“All three plays have an interest in how one event can change the course of a relationship, with lives imploding at a moment's notice.

“That's my specialty, perhaps - stirring the pot and sitting back to watch the fallout.

“I'm like a bad neighbour who keeps whispering challenges into the ears of the husband and wife across the fence, goading them on into combat.”

They say you should write about what you know, but Neil insists his morbid fascination with the more unsettling aspects of relationships does not stem from his own deranged life and upbringing.

He said: “I can't say my life or my family has anything unconventional in its history. I'm probably just horribly aware how mundane I am in real life, so I go out of my way to do something surprising on paper.

“Sadly, some people are even more messed up than those I portray. I'm an amateur in the world of bad choices and morally questionable behaviour.

“Everything I write is fictional whereas what you read in the paper and see on television is real. Go look in a basement or two in Austria if you really want to be scared.”

His damning portrayal of the modern man as a callous woman hating monster has earned him a reputation as a misogynist, but Neil brushes the accusation aside.

He says despite his unflattering representation of the male species, the ugly truth is, sometimes, just that - damn ugly.

“Being a man, I know what we're capable of and frankly it's a lot. Good and bad. Writing the bad is probably more interesting than the good but there's pleasure in both.

“I ultimately want to believe man is good but as I grew older I'm really not so sure.”

With his flare for writing about the fiendish and his ability to shock audiences its unsurprising Hollywood has developed a taste for Neil’s devilishly perverse storytelling.

While many of his screenplays have enjoyed critical acclaim, his attempt to remake the cult British horror The Wicker Man in 2006 received scathing reviews.

Both written and directed by Neil, and starring Nicholas Cage, the film also bombed at the box office. However, the bespectacled writer stands by his work.

He said: “I'm not doing this for the reviews or the box office. I've been both hailed and bruised by reviews, excited and saddened by box office returns.

“That film was a chance to do something different with a movie which I liked but never thought was particularly well made.

“We took a shot at doing something wild and with that, you run the risk of embarrassment, failure and ridicule.

“I actually love the look of that film. I think it's creepy and funny and the fact that we let our lead burn to death at the end and got away with it is just plain fun.”

Any negative backlash to The Wicker Man has certainly not deterred Neil from having a stab at another remake of yet another British film.

This time around it’s 2007’s black comedy Death at a Funeral. Whether it flops or flies, one thing is for sure - Neil LaBute’s bleak analysis of the human condition will be written all over it.

The Furies, Land of The Dead, Helter Skelter. Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, Greenwich. February 23 to February 27. 020 8858 7755.