←Recommendations of This Bitter Earth

I saw this at the Seattle Public Theatre last month and consider it to be one of the best plays I've seen this theatre season. The script brings up a host of complex political topics (passive activism and intersectionality, to name just a couple) through the lens of one very specific couple's individual identities and personal relationship. This wonderfully challenges the audience to consider these issues in relation to their own lives, without ever beating said audience over the head.

No, I have not yet seen a production of this play. Yet I was fortunate in being blessed with the sound mind to read & enjoy it. The play speaks to our time with a clear and defining voice. Sweet, gently melodramatic and ultimately tragic, with 2 vivid and dimensioned characters who seem effortlessly realized. Mr. Harrison David Rivers clearly has a distinctive voice. I look forward to reading/seeing more of his work.

Was lucky enough to see the production in Philly (produced by Interact Theatre) and I was in awe. Such a well-written 2-hander that plays with time very effectively. Hope this gets more productions because the conversations being had here need to be had all over this nation.

I saw the Road Theatre's staged/filmed production of This Bitter World last night and was blown away. This epic love story reveals as much about the world we live in as it does about the two lovers whose story is told with utter grace and brutal honesty. That said, it never feels like the relationship or the story itself is a vehicle for a political diatribe. Everything about this play makes us question what we think we know about people -- especially people who, on the surface, appear to be our polar opposites.

I was lucky enough to listen to the Diversionary Theatre audio production of this play, letting it wash over me as I walked through my neighborhood, mask on my face and wind in my hair. And because it was being broadcast into my ears, and because it's so intimate to begin with, I felt like it was being written just for me. It's everything you know love is but don't want to talk about. It's messy and painful and heartbreaking and so right, so perfect. I felt like I was eavesdropping. That's how good it was.

When I finished reading this play, I had to just sit there for a few minutes and revel in its beautiful storytelling. This unvarnished look at love and loss is told in a nonlinear structure that makes it that much more powerful. I hope I can see this piece on stage someday.

I was thoroughly moved by this powerful play that winds its way back and forth in time. The chronological shifts help sustain tension and deliver satisfying developments while also heightening the theatricality of the piece. Jesse and Neil's interspersed direct addresses also came off as necessary and revealing rather than as a mere device. Rivers has set lyrical poetry beside well-observed, naturalistic scenes that resonated with me. I'm so thankful to have read such a nuanced exploration of interracial relationships complicated with an intersectional focus on queerness as well. The ending was startling, potent, and extremely moving.

Such a wonderful play. The nonlinear narrative of this couple's politically-charged relationship creates an intimate puzzle that draws you in. You completely understand their frictions, while also hoping that they'll make it through unscathed. I was a crying mess by the end of the About Face production of this play.

Beautiful and poetic.

An intimate and powerful two-hander that offers a unique perspective on many topics today: race, privilege, sexuality, the appropriation of another race's art, our responsibility to fight social injustice, and several others. The language is poetic, the characters are engaging, and the life-affirming message is one that we need to hear right now.