←Recommendations of WHORTICULTURE

The insightful genius of Emma Goldman-Sherman is on full display here, as they carefully navigate the complexities of various issues society is in conversation with - such as gender and sexuality. A wonderful play that, ultimately, highlights the corrosive impact patriarchal norms have on individual's lives. I also love the style in which this is written, I hope to see it produced one day! In the meantime, give this a read!

Power, that for me was the central element of this very cleverly written piece that analyses what it is to be a woman. The three very different and wonderfully created characters all present the piece as the audience are privileged enough to witness it. For me its a piece that will and should inspire lots of debate amongst its audience. Performances of this piece would play a crucial part in what has become our expectations of gender. Its a play that speaks volumes on society, gender and, for me, is perfectly captured in the ending poem.

I was fortunate to see a reading of this difficult yet imperative play about coming of age within a white patriarchy. The three characters present three unique experiences that also effectively overlap. This is the kind of play that can have as much impact on the artists producing it as it can for an audience experiencing it. We keep hearing that theaters want women's voices...Emma has an important voice that resonates for many women. The time has come for this play to see a full production.

Bursting with energy, wit and theatrical imagination and available to see on Zoom through Quarantine players, ultimately somewhat harrowing, this is a play well worth reading and seeing--someday, one hopes, live in a theatre.

I finally got a chance to see this play and it was worth waiting for, but it was busting from the small screen, demanding to be given all the theatricality intended. I can't imagine the impact it would have fully alive on stage! The play covers so much ground, which only makes it painfully apparent how much ground there is to cover and how little progress we've really made in doing that. It's still available to watch; do it!

With wild theatricality and potently thoughtful provocation, Emma Goldman-Sherman delves into the personal pain of being a woman in a “man’s” world and creates another stunning, angry – and necessary – work of art.

WHORTICULTURE covers so much ground narratively, thematically, sociologically, psychologically, emotionally, you-name-it-ally, there should be an entire course of study devoted to examining its lessons.

I love plays that are essentially autopsies – of lives, relationships, souls... in this case, even a society. WHORTICULTURE opens up the body of the world and examines its component parts, with astounding depth and detail, though the lives of three girls and the people that molded them into women. Endlessly inventive and relentlessly powerful, it’s a tour de force for its actors. Goldman-Sherman’s writing is unflinching, uncompromising, and glorious!

Whorticulture is an unapologetic, necessary, and powerful theatrical exploration of our toxic broken culture and the painful ways young girls internalize being sexualized from a young age. I recommend reading it and totally agree it should be part of the curriculum in gender studies departments and produced.

WHORTICULTURE is a theatrical powerhouse. It's a rare play that entertains while also exploring trauma within such deep intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and so much more. Emma Goldman-Sherman expertly paces with both poetry and tragedy as the actresses pivot between different characters across the lifespan. There is brilliant writing throughout as she takes the unchallenged, toxic attitudes and behaviors toward women and shows how they manifest in such catastrophic ways. This all-encompassing work is at times fantastical, raw, comedic, and devastating - but always real. And exactly what the theatre needs most right now.

One of the most authentic plays I've seen. The creative structure, including chronological jumps, spoken word, and child-like rhymes, is a perfect reflection of the shattered innocence portrayed in this play. Emma Goldman-Sherman created a raw, genuine and heartbreaking play. Our society, the way women and girls are treated, and what we're taught to believe, it's so broken. This play makes me so angry. I wish every man on the planet could watch it, and just let it sink in.