About the Play:

Nerve is a full-length romantic comedy by Adam Szymkowicz. When the pair meet on their first date in a New York dive bar one evening what ensues is a 21st century take on the minefield that is online dating. Somewhere amidst a sea of awkward conversation, slightly excessive drinking, and alarming personal confessions, the two find themselves falling into an odd, profoundly unhealthy, ceaselessly entertaining relationship.

Nerve is a wickedly entertaining and darkly comic romance centering on one couple's delightfully awkward first date. Elliot and Susan meet online, and he is immediately convinced that she could be "the one." But Elliot has never had an online date before… at least not one that showed up. Susan has had far too many but would prefer not to discuss them. When they meet in a bar oon an official date, all their personality flaws are revealed, along with a puppet, some modern dance, and a desperation that may or may not be love. Nerve explores the unpredictable perils of online dating and the harsh realities of loneliness and mental illness in a way that is as delightful as it is disturbing.

Nerve premiered in 2006 Off-Broadway at Theater at the 14th Street Y in New York City's East Village. The UK Premiere was in 2010 Off-West End at Barons Court Theatre in London. Since then the play has been produced widely at professional theatres across the US.

Cast: 1 female, 1 male

What people say:

"…sweet, sexy, neurotic friendly." — New York Times

"…frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and in the end a neat little demonstration, if you needed one, of how much better live theatre can be than TV or movies when it comes to convincingly recreating human relationships in all their delicious complexity." — Gothamist

"With Nerve, playwright Adam Szymkowicz ventures into the minefield that is online dating and emerges with a wickedly entertaining and darkly comic romance. Cyber-dating may be rife with tales of nightmarish encounters with neurotics and sociopaths, Szymkowicz seems to say, but don't sociopaths deserve love, too? Anyone who sees Nerve will be inclined to say yes." — OffOffOnline.com

About the Playwright:

Adam Szymkowicz is an American playwright who graduated in 2007 from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. In 2004, he received his playwriting MFA from Columbia University, where he was the Dean's Fellow. His work has been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, and Lithuania.