←Recommendations of Ripped

The play kept me as off-balance as Lucy is during most of it. Was there consent? You don't know until the very end and then it rips you. Moving back and forth in time, we are in Lucy's journey as she struggles to remember what she doesn't remember. I'd love to see this play in high schools as young people grapple with, "What is consent?" "What is date rape?" At the very least, if this play was featured on college campuses across the country, there could be very meaningful discussion which could help the tide of this rising crime.

Here is a piece that deftly juggles its timeline, keeping us on the edge of our seats as the story unfolds. It's written with a spareness that underlines, rather than de-emphasizes, the play's ideas. "Ripped" moves along at a jog while never skimping on interiority. The final image is one that Americans need to see.

This play needs to be part of part of the college/university theatre canon. It's a play that will stay with audiences long after they see it. One of the best uses of non-linear storytelling I've ever read in a play. Its a play that addresses rape culture head on and leaves you with no easy answers, which is what great theatre is supposed to do.

“Ripped” forces us to look hard at a subject that is not easy to talk about. Quite simply, it’s a play that needs to be produced by university theatre departments all over the country. Bublitz has created a smart, gripping, contemporary morality play about sexual consent, and the disasterous consequences for all parties involved when people play fast and loose with the rules. The memory play format cleverly makes the facts of Lucy and Jared’s encounter cloudy until the very end... which is a perfect starting point for an important and necessary conversation about rape.

I have had the pleasure of engaging with this script as both a reader and an audience member, and every time I am struck by how powerful it is. There is no obvious villain, and no easy answer, just a haunting depiction of rape culture, the ambiguity of blame, and the damage our refusal to confront it can cause. I hope this play becomes a mainstay in university productions and classroom readings.

This play is a powerful story about sexual assault and rape culture. This is a play that needs to be produced and should be used in classrooms.