First date. Everyone's nervous. We all have a thing we fall back on...

Becky Shaw is an amusing and cleverly constructed comedy about ambition, the cost of being truthful and the perils of a blind date. The fast and funny dialogue navigates between five distinctively perverse and disingenuously dysfunctional characters.

From the moment that Becky arrives overdressed for her blind date with straight-talking Max, it is clear the evening won't go to plan. In the immediate fallout, Becky becomes an object of devotion for her boss Andrew, who appears to have a taste for vulnerable women. In turn Andrew's wife Suzanna turns to her step-brother Max for comfort, and their mutual desire begins to resurface.

Gina Gionfriddo's masterful play is a biting American comedy with sharp, witty dialogue and a carefully crafted story arc. Character-driven, Becky Shaw is a comic tale of tangled love lives and a subtle but acerbic comedy of manners. It was first staged at the Almeida Theatre in 2011.