←Recommendations of Soldier Poet

A powerful look into the reality of war and what it takes to survive let alone truly become a hero. Well done.

"Soldier Poet" provides a taut, gut-wrenching and surprisingly human look at what is worth fighting for. Each character is individually unique and the imagery throughout the play rattled around in my head for days(I'll never hear the words "chlorine gas" the same again). Darcy Parker Bruce is a gifted wordsmith whose name belongs in the same breath as Paula Vogel, Sarah Ruhl and Suzan-Lori Parks. I'd love to see this play on it's feet.

Darcy has such a gift with words, wisdom, and gut wrenching feeling - what a powerful and heart-pounding play! Would love to see this come alive on stage!

"Soldier Poet" is nearly biblical in its scope. Yet, with a tight focus on two soldiers and nurse, the playwright has distilled the enormity of the conflict into the immediacy of 4 actors. The audience is locked in purgatory with the characters, who wrestle to bring some small good into a city that is tearing itself apart. Remarkably, the play never succumbs to bleakness. Terse dialogue suddenly sprouts into lyrical composition and the absurdity of the situation births biblical imagery. This is a play that I will think about for a long time to come.

The tension in this play is on a different level. Stakes are so high for these two American soldiers and the Syrian women they meet in war ravaged Aleppo. It's a play about something big but told in such a poetic and intimate way. Darcy Parker Bruce has created a gorgeous play that forces audiences to see the horrors of war and wrestle with the ethical situations soldiers are forced into.

Transported from the beginning, Soldier Poet explores not only the obvious exterior in which it is set, but delves deeply into the interior, the relationships, the humanity: the heart of any good story/play. Laced with wit, humor, intensity, compassion, and a certain type of lyricism and poetical nature, I was blessed to hear Soldier Poet in the form of a NYC staged reading in June of 2018. As topical as it is, it is also timeless, and beats to a beauty-full heart, similar to the heart of its author, Darcy Parker Bruce.

Soldier Poet is a fluid, heartfelt play full of vibrant imagery and stage picture. It examines heroism, love, and risk taking from the bombed streets of Aleppo and the point of view of two sisters and two American soldiers. A thoughtful, emotional drama.

Soldier Poet tackles the tricky subject of war with grace and virtuosity, all the while acknowledging the very real and gritty elements of its subject matter. Darcy Parker Bruce's language is poetic and evocative, and her characters are strong and unique.

A lyrical, haunting meditation on war. Darcy outdoes herself with this new play that dives deep into why we risk our lives and our hearts

An intricately woven piece, both heartfelt and intellectually focused; the precision is especially masterful, every moment is positioned and honed to serve the whole. The central, core relationship -- Ben and Connor -- and their resulting dialectic about the morality of Aleppo and the fungible definition of heroism is a compelling one. And they are pushed up against a powerful force, Qamer, a unique and distinctive (anti-) heroine, one we lean forward in our seats to hear and learn from. Strong storytelling; formidable work, eloquent and highly theatrical.