←Recommendations of SICKLE

A fascinating and rich play that tells the story of a heartbreaking experience where hope and strength continue on through the worst. Well done.

Abbey writes fascinating self-contained little worlds whose rules slowly, and often devastatingly, reveal themselves over time. This piece is no different, merging both history and her own unique voice. It is both darkly comic and irreverent. And let's not forget: devastating.

I had the pleasure of seeing SICKLE at Red Theatre in Chicago. Fenbert takes on a difficult, important topic, but does so through skillful characterization and plotting rather than didactic docudrama. The fact that she does so with an all female cast makes the play that much more commendable. But what I'm going to take away from the play is its realistic portrayal of these people in an impossible situation. Fenbert finds a way to make a satisfying script out of an unbearable topic, with sardonic humor, a Slavic sensibility, and politics based in human beings' suffering.

It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Abbey Fenbert and their play Sickle as a finalist for our 2016 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 54 finalists out of more than 1,450 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process. Our readers especially responded to the complexity and nuance of the community of women in this play.

This play has a tricky rhythm all of its own and has style in abundance. We are not accustomed to seeing women thrust into these kinds of roles and situations in the typical drama, and it is refreshing. Some of her dialogue is so blazing and brilliant it is as if it were neon spray-paint on a white wall. The writer demonstrates an affinity for the harsh, cold sense of humor that this particular culture is known for and has a grasp on the cultural and political situation of the particular time and place of the play. Highly recommended.