Wallace Shawn's first new play in ten years, a dark moral fable. And so yes, well, I’d simply dropped that whole idea of being a good person, I’d dropped it right down into some hole in the street, and down it had gone into the city’s sewers, and no one ever saw it again. And that was sad, if you thought it was sad, or I suppose it was sad, or some people probably would say it was sad. A dark moral fable, telling of an acclaimed writer’s hedonistic lifestyle and its effects on his wife, son and mistress. Wallace Shawn's first new play in ten years, another viciously witty indictment of the liberal intelligentsia and its hidden depravity, will be staged in rep with a revival of The Fever at an Off-Broadway theatre in January 2026. "Wallace Shawn writes like no one else. His stuff is scary, gripping, and hilarious.", New Yorker "No one pricks the conscience of right-on, left-leaning theatergoers better than this impish, idiosyncratic polymath." - Matt Trueman, Variety "Wallace Shawn writes like no one else. His stuff is scary, gripping, and hilarious." - Ben Marcus, New Yorker "Wallace Shawn always takes you on an unexpected journey. You come home bruised, perplexed, laughing, afraid. And, because he's such a good writer, very happy." - Caryl Churchill "Wallace Shawn is at once the US's most profound and most overlooked playwright." - David Hare Wallace Shawn is most recognisable as an actor, from, among others, The Princess Bride , Clueless , Young Sheldon , Manhattan , and the voice of Rex in Toy Story . His first play Our Late Night was produced at the Public Theater, NYC, in 1975. Aunt Dan and Lemon (1985) was first performed at the Public Theater, then the Royal Court in London. The Fever (1990), a modern classic, was first performed by Shawn in his friends' apartments, then transferred to the Royal Court and the West End. The Designated Mourner (1997) was first performed at the National Theatre (starring Mike Nichols, directed by David Hare). With André Gregory, Shawn made the films My Dinner with André and Vanya on 42nd Street . He has won three Obie Awards.