←Recommendations of Breaking the Shakespeare Code

An absolutely stunning two-hander! It's Educating Rita and Masterclass with more fireworks and Shakespeare! The dialog sings and the characters are so rich and complex. I devoured it in one sitting!

Breathtaking! BREAKING THE SHAKESPEARE CODE has an electric energy running right through it. Two people alone in a rehearsal hall making breakthroughs about Shakespeare, acting, and themselves. Told in three scenes, this spans 16 years and shows us how powerful the connects we make in theatre can be.

If you are looking for a two-hander, this is the script for you!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I was hooked from the very beginning by this multilayered two-hander in which power and control ebb and flow back and forth continuously between the characters. The pace is sprightly, with just enough twists and turns to keep you interested but never so much that they distract. In the end, you’re left with a cleverly constructed and keenly observed meditation on the lines that get blurred when developing and manipulating emotions is at the very heart of your life’s work. This play is a gift to actors and highly recommended!

A superbly paced study between two lonely people who can only be true with each other via fiction, or in this case, the works of Shakespeare. It's also a rich exploration of power dynamics, not only in the area of archetypal student/teacher matters, but in areas of the heart and unspoken (dangerous) longings. The humor courses throughout as well, which helps us digest the weighty issues of emotion/desire that these two people are grappling with. I can't say enough about the wonders of this play. A gem for two actors, this.

This tight, quick two-hander is the definition of a character-driven drama. It's full of reveals and reversals that keep you guessing and leaning forward, trying to separate the text from the subtext! It really delves into everything involved in preparing for a role without ever becoming ABOUT Shakespearean text - it's always about the tension between the two people in the room. I love how it spans so many years so seamlessly. All of the exposition we receive moves the story forward. I also appreciated the metatheatrical jokes throughout! Actors and audiences alike will see themselves in this compelling piece.

This play absolutely flies off the page--the dialogue is so sharp, and the intensity of their emotional and intellect pulls us forward so forcefully. And through it all, there's this growing sense of connection and danger, sort of like a fencing match between two well-matched opponents (though one likes to think he's the superior fencer). We want the magnetic pull to keep pulling. Feels like this play should be done often.

A fantastic exploration for theatre lovers about the process and the relationships that form. Captivating and well done.

Saw this great play read on Back Porch Theater by two of the actors who originated the roles. Great play full of layers and one that will always shine no matter how many times you see/hear or read it.

This is a tightly written two-hander that so deftly uses dialogue to both illuminate character and move the plot forward. Not a word feels extraneous in the carefully chosen exchanges between Anna and Curt, and I appreciated how Minigan explores this at times dangerous feeling relationship in a way that doesn't let either character off the hook. Curt's coaching feels authentic even as it is manipulative--and it is certainly difficult to write "good teaching" that comes off as credible in real-time. I also appreciated that Minigan honors the unsettling age/power disparity in scene one, while giving Anna agency throughout.

The first 10 pages are the most compelling and dangerous I’ve ever read- and the rest of this juicy two-hander is brilliant: A 16yr relationship between first, student and teacher, then eventually two adults, who are unable to articulate their oceans-deep feelings for one another. Using Shakespeare as a bridge, smokescreen, weapon, and love letter, the scenes between Anna and Curt are the most layered and beautiful writing I’ve encountered.
And to be let into the rehearsal room- where the gloves are off and blood is spilled- is no less than a gift.
Sexy. Stunning. Excellent.