The Smith family hatch a plan to murder their estranged matriarch for her insurance money. They hire Killer Joe Cooper, a police detective and part-time contract killer, to do the job. Once he enters their trailer, their simple plan spirals out of control.

Letts’s shocking and unforgettable first play, originally staged in 1993 in a cramped theatre in Evanston, Illinois, quickly became a must-see and ran for eight months before later runs in Edinburgh, New York and London, including four months on the West End. It’s been performed in fifteen countries in twelve languages and is slated for Broadway in Spring 2015. It was recently released as an acclaimed motion picture directed by William Friedkin and starring Matthew McConaughey.