←Recommendations of Mercy

Szymkowicz had created a living hell for grief-stricken Orville filled with people living their own hells, and the audience is invited to witness things far too intimate and personal for far too long a time. Very dark, very unnerving, and written very well.

A heartbreaking play about grief and the trauma of trying to forgive. The terror of having to move forward and raise a kid on your own and trying not to fall apart. Really moving, this one.

At the beginning, Orville gently cajoles his unnamed daughter to make a sound, any sound, to communicate. This scene brilliantly sets up a play in which each character struggles to recognise and express exactly what is going on inside them, whether it is Brenda trying to explain her failing marriage, Ian struggling to confess what he's done, Walter attempting to speak openly with his son, or Orville coming to terms with his sense of grave responsibility. The arc from isolation to openness, from supression to communicativeness, is strikingly clear and poignant. A tremendous play in every respect! Read, produce immediately!

MERCY is a heartbreaking play about the heart breaking after the death of a loved one. Paralysis, volcanic anger, irrationality -- all that and more intensify Szymkowicz's character-study of Orville. The man earns our empathy from the beginning, even when he's near madness. His descent into vegenance is an action that 99.9% of us wouldn't take; however, that anti-heroic journey pushes him to a difficult choice that reveals so much truth about how humans cope with traumatic pain. Yes, a lot of sadness in this play, but there's also a lot of humor. Produce this play!