←Recommendations of elephants

A small but mighty short play. The playwright intrigues you with a young autistic girl's passion for elephants, and her incandescent hope that her mother will one day come back for her. But when the devastating final revelation occurs, good luck keeping those tears in your eyes. The final monologue is one of the most heartbreaking pieces of writing I've ever read in a dramatic piece. Excellent!

Sue’s imaginary friend isn’t the only elephant in the room in this incredible short. Jordan Henry relies on powerful sensory imagery to set the audience up for the story’s gripping revelation... and she does not relent... it pounds, it vibrates, it shakes... and it calls to you. She’s the kind of author who lighting and sound designers have to roll up their sleeves for. What’s more, her famialiarity with the autism spectrum is plainly apparent, giving way to an authenticity in her characterization and storytelling. Beautiful and sad.

An incredibly powerful and touching piece. Henry has a gift in her ability to create honest and relatable characters that draw the audience in emotionally. I was especially fascinated by Henry’s portrayal of Sue, a teenager with autism, and how logical it is for her to admire the elephants’ nuance-free method of communication. After finishing reading this play, my first thought was “I want to see this on stage.” The way Henry portrays Sue’s imagination interwoven with reality would be incredible to see performed.

Spectacular. You'll never be disappointed by a short play by Jordan Elizabeth Henry. With an emotional intensity that's rare in many short plays, a pain deep down that you feel, the inevitable revelations that are still shocking because you feel so much for the character - these are a few of the strengths. The final moment in this play, like in many of her short plays, is unforgettable, enlarging your heart. It was amazing how the fantasy - what's in the girl's head - was externalized, played on the stage, while real life was acted out.

A powerful, emotional grabber. Shows a pre-teen or teenager on the autism spectrum, which is something that should be shown more, and also captures the relationship of a heartbroken girl and her equally heartbroken aunt trying to come together. Very well done and moving.