Haunting words from a master. I appreciate how Partain doesn't go for the simple, easy answers here, but instead leans into the melancholy and the grief, and shows the underbelly of losing oneself in those emotions as well - as well as the importance of expressing them to those people who love us most. This play is a hug, occasionally a cozy one, but it's also a hug in solidarity and a hug offered to bring comfort in times when joy seems unachievable.

Both heartwarming and heartbreaking, this is a deeply moving tale of a ghost from Christmas past whose annual visit leaves her grieving son unable to move on. The repetition of the visit over the course of 18 years is a clever device, and works brilliantly as evidenced in an excellent audio production by Ruby Sky Productions. I highly recommend giving it a read and a listen.

This play was so beautifully written and so exceptionally haunting yet comforting. Francis having the chance to speak to his late mother ever year after her death even though she says the same words over and over again, that one moment of her being there is truly special. The ending was heartbreaking because Francis has a breakdown but his mother continues to say the same lines until she disappears. A spiritual play that examines how the human connection stays even after their gone. Beautiful.