“ At the heart of MARIANAS TRENCH is a yearning for connection. Love how Scott Sickles handles the correspondence of pre-adolescent heroes Teddy and Anzor (redactions and all!). The old-school epistolatory dimension in this alt-future drama is clever as hell - and gives the action a rich narrative layering. From the depths of their isolation, these two endearing characters combine imaginations to go deeper - ah the clownfish, moon jellies, Humboldt squid! - to the bottom of the ocean. I love this marvelous play for its wisdom and beauty - would love to see it staged for the light design alone!!!! ”

“ Moving and sensitively written, Sickles both diagnoses the problems our era faces and suggests the care and tenderness with which we must fight them. Powerful theater that plays beautifully. ”

“ I'm so glad I found this play. Sickles has a way of writing young characters that I wish I would have been friends with when I was younger. And these young characters I want to protect...save so badly! All the characters are very strong and distinct and the way the two children find respite in this harsh world through storytelling is very relatable and tragically sweet. This would be a dream to design. I'm glad there are 2 more parts, I am not ready to say good-bye to these wonderful characters in a nightmare world. ”

“ In Sickles's dystopian vision, states have seceded and formed an extreme right-wing paradise where anyone who is not white, straight, and Christian is persecuted, and state surveillance to insure conformity extends even to analyzing and redacting pen-pal letters between children. A family with too many secrets is enmeshed in this nightmare, and their fate is the focus of this masterful, deeply unsettling play, part of a trilogy as chilling and addictive as "The Handmaid's Tale." Read it. Read it and weep. ”