←Recommendations of In the Serpent's Nest (formerly Queen of Sad Mischance)

What I find the most compelling about this play is how the complexity of story and the character deepens with each new page and scene. All three characters are onions with layer upon layer of depth, operating within a world that is shifting quickly, along with Beverly's mind. Really well written and thoughtful.

An endless satisfying game of three-dimensional chess. This play lulls you in with the drama of academia and Shakespeare's histories, then springs its true cleverness and emotional power as all three characters grow closer and closer, ensuring the potency of the inevitable blow-up. A story of self-determination, family, and fearing the future, Queen of Sad Mischance is one of the most satisfying scripts I've encountered in a long time.

I love how fierce and smart both women are, as all three of the characters are struggling to make sense or find footholds in the world. The relationships are complex and feel so real, and the pace of the piece keeps on moving forward, even as Beverly fades away. This feels like a piece that I expect to see done again and again.

This is a richly layered and nuanced piece that is both an excellent and full character study of three complicated people, while also being an impeccably structured play! "Queen of Sad Mischance" is a beautiful example of theatrical showing vs. telling, where all of the dialogue both serves to move the plot forward while also rendering and fully fleshing out its characters. Kym is a propulsive driver to the play, Beverly a sympathetic foil who is shown warts and all, and Roy a delightfully complicating wild card. Everyone so clearly has urgent needs related to themselves and one another.

I will never get tired of John Minigian. His characters are always so richly drawn and his way with words is powerful and always packs a punch. This play which at first glance seems simple is so complex and achingly beautiful. I highly recommend this play!

Fantastically thought provoking and manages to be both highly emotional and intellectual. I love a play that hits me on so many different levels and this piece does so beautifully. Three nuanced and heartbreakingly human characters dealing with the highly complicated and layered world of academia. Would love to see this produced.

Crafted on a foundation that meets and exceeds all structural expectations, this play quickly transcends to a higher plane, where the most beautiful, lyrical ideas can coexist within abjectly base emotion: Fear, envy, loss. Minigan mines the inventory of these three richly-hewed characters for their depth, humor and all-too human flaws. A simply stunning play, existing at the intersection between despair and hope.

Channeling elements from Edson’s “Wit” and Auburn’s “Proof,” Minigan has created a stunning portrait of a young woman in a race against time to harness her professor’s experience and knowledge as leverage before dementia renders it useless. This time the backdrop is not mathematics, nor metaphysical poetry, but Shakespeare. Kym finds her journey stalled by much more than just Beverly’s cognitive decline: her age, her gender, her race, and the very academic playground where she envisions her future, all seem to bar her progress. This play is a definite page turner, one of Minigan’s finest.

A strong and surprising story with characters whom you miss as soon as you finish the play (and even now, some time later). I agree: it needs to be produced.

I read this play years ago and just had the pleasure of rereading it to find that it's been polished to a fine sheen! The dialogue is among the best I've ever read, the themes ever-relevant, and the characters expertly drawn. It's time to put this play on its feet!