THE WAY IT IS

After eight years, Cane dumps fiancee Yasmine and is ready to propose to someone else--as soon as he retrieves his mother's engagement ring. Yasmine is ready to give it back, once she gets what she's been promised. In this taut two-hander, Yasmine and Cane face off over the truth of eight years together and arrive at life-changing consequences.
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THE WAY IT IS

Recommended by

  • Jess Wilson:
    11 May. 2023
    One of our company's guiding vision statements reads, ‘Provocative theatre. Contemporary playwrights. New works.’ This play encompasses all of that. Donna Hoke has crafted a piece which is simultaneously realistic and surreal - we recognize these characters, this couple, from our own lives, as people we know, people we spend time with. Yasmine, with a caring heart and passion for life, and Cane, with an easygoing attitude and carefree outlook. We spend the play learning and understanding who these people are - separately and together - and are destroyed with them at the end. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
  • MARTIN JAGODZINSKI:
    22 Jul. 2021
    After about 10 pages into THE WAY IT IS, I realized I recognized Cane and Yasmine in several of the people I already know, and could see the brilliance of Donna Hoke's writing talent. Visceral and unapologetic, layered and true to the character, Donna is deserving of all the awards she's won. Excellent read!
  • Doug DeVita:
    28 Dec. 2020
    With typical Hokian aplomb and precision, THE WAY IT IS upends pre-conceived notions of sexual assault and gender conformity; what’s shocking is how vicious Hoke gets, and how quickly; this tight, tense little piece packs a lot into its 55 pages, leaving one breathless and more than a bit unsettled.

Character Information

  • Yasmine
    early to late thirties,
    Any
    ,
    Female
  • Cane
    early to late thirties,
    Any
    ,
    Male

Development History

  • Commission
    ,
    Interesting experiment with this play: http://howlround.com/i-wrote-a-play-with-a-male-rape-but-readers-didn-t-want-to-call-it-that
    ,
    2016

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Cotuit Center for the Arts
    ,
    2023
  • Fringe
    ,
    Eva's Echo, Galway, Ireland
    ,
    2018
  • Professional
    ,
    Duckface, London
    ,
    2016
  • Professional
    ,
    5th Wall Productions
    ,
    2016

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
Trustus Playwrights Competition
,
Trustus Theatre
,
2016
Semi-Finalist
,
The Road Summer Theater Festival
,
2016
Finalist
,
IATI Theatre Contest
,
IATI Theatre
,
2015