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A Godawful Small Affair by Hayley St. James

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  • Philip Middleton Williams:
    7 Feb. 2021
    “ The world that Hayley St. James has created in this play is isolated from the rest of us during the height of the pandemic, yet it is a safe place for these three people to find comfort, love, and share it with the presence of David Bowie. This intimate world is universal, accessible, and a source of inspiration on how just to cope, hang on, and look to the stars. ”
  • Conor McShane:
    13 Jan. 2021
    “ As someone who's been lucky enough to go through this whole pandemic cohabitating with a loving partner, I think this play so deftly captures the complexities of a relationship in isolation, the comfort and the monotony, the anxiety and the paradoxical feeling of spending all day with someone without feeling like you've really "seen" them. That, and the ever-shifting temporal dissonance we all experience on the daily nowadays. You don't see a ton of work that focuses on a relationship that isn't in crisis, and I really appreciated how it's depicted here. ”
  • Nick Malakhow:
    10 Jan. 2021
    “ I so love how this feels of the moment without simply wallowing in our current circumstances. Hayley St. James does such a wonderful job of exploring intimacy, loneliness, and connection and how those things have been impacted by the pandemic. All of this is done through skillful and nuanced "showing" as they examine the intersecting journeys of a small constellation of people. The use of intimacy feels real and oh so justified, and I'm so grateful to read such a universally applicable story led by an intersectionally complex ensemble of folks. ”
  • Toby Malone:
    28 Dec. 2020
    “ This is a beautiful, complex, important piece of art that clearly speaks to the moment we're living in right now, where time means everything and nothing, and where humans penned up inside places that were never designed for 24/7 confinement can bend and ever so slightly break. Hayley St. James creates a beautiful set of relationships and limitations, all haloed by the profound presence of the ghostly presence of the alien Starman David Bowie. This is a piece that we will look back on for its importance as a document of now. Beautiful stuff. ”
  • Emily Elyse Everett:
    24 Dec. 2020
    “ While there are many things to enjoy about this play - unabashed sexuality, delightful hallucinations, sweet and sometimes sour romance - what I was most impressed by was how St. James captured the awe and instability of a new relationship that is pushed into unexpectedly deep intimacy. Jodie and Nessa love each other in exactly the way young people who have been in a relationship for a relatively short period of time do, and St. James leans into this deeply relatable stage of romance adeptly. A charming and at times sobering view of covid isolation. ”
  • Morgan Hemgrove:
    9 Dec. 2020
    “ "A Godawful Small Affair" does an amazing job at encapsulating the COVID experience; from the fading sense of time to the monotony of routine, St. James uses the claustrophobia to create a beautifully poignant piece that shows romance and tragedy side by side.

    The queer relationships shown in this play are some of the best written I've seen, they're realistic and heartwarming from beginning to end. St. James shows us the need for connection in this pandemic and does so wonderfully. And you have to love the queer alien space ... (god?) that is David Bowie. ”
  • Dave Osmundsen:
    9 Dec. 2020
    “ I listened to a Zoom reading of this play. This is an incredibly delicate, deceptively simple piece that took me back to the beginning months of the pandemic, when quarantine threw off our perception of time (which St. James captures beautifully). The use of increasingly loud sirens was especially haunting and effective, reminding the audience of how on fire the world was (literally and figuratively) while we were stuck inside. Also, points to St. James for normalizing non-monogamy in relationships, and for not making a slip-up a massive plot point that calls a relationship into question. ”
  • Matthew Weaver:
    8 Dec. 2020
    “ I really like how of the now A GODAWFUL SMALL AFFAIR is, as St. James shows us lust, love, yearning tinged with politics and just the general contemporary sense of exasperation, exhaustion, rage and weariness.
    The story they tell is bold and unflinching, and yet at the same day, every day and REAL, which makes it all the more powerful. Plus, you know, Bowie, so it's cool as hell.
    St. James ably handles affairs of the heart, pop culture, politics and just LIFE with skill and aplomb. Definitely a playwright any theatre would be lucky to be in business with. ”
  • Duncan Pflaster:
    9 Nov. 2020
    “ One of the more intersecting plays to come out of the pandemic that I've seen. Kudos for articulating the claustrophobia and insanity of these crazy times on a personal level, and with a diverse assortment of Queer characters. ”
  • Ross Tedford Kendall:
    29 Oct. 2020
    “ The pandemic has changed many things about our way of life, and St. James puts a microscope on three characters cut off from the rest of the world, and how they were affected. The results are stunning, with a raw energy and honesty that few may ever attempt. It draws you in and lets you truly feel the hope and heartache they have. Plus, it has David Bowie. ”

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