←Recommendations of Lyon's Den

Devastating and powerful, Young depicts a family with care and empathy, while not shying from their flaws and trauma. The grief that so defines the play affects each member of the family differently and thus we learn the events leading up to the present in a variety of ways, from beautifully poetic narration to hard-hitting dialogue. Loss feels epic, here.

I saw this raucous, poetic play on stage at Texas State University. It is alternately beautiful and heartbreaking.”

A powerful story of pain and loss, the process of grappling with grief and rebuilding as a family. Moving and well done.

Heart-wrenching, beautifully symbolic, and enchanting in its construction, “Lyon’s Den” is a deeply layered portrait of grief and the way it frays the ropes that bind a family together. Through Q, himself a fantastic, complex storyteller, Young reveals information and the history of the Lyon family organically and naturally, in complete command of the web-like narrative at every turn. The resulting stage pictures are outmatched only by the imagery of Q’s poetry, and would be immense to see realized in a performance. Excellent work.

A masterfully executed family drama that transcends standard genre tropes and combines poetry, a fluid timeline, impactful double casting, and a potent storyline. Young's theatrical world is heightened yet human. He explores the fallout of an unspeakable tragedy and the ways that different people move forward, stagnate, or backwards in their grief. The characters in this fractured family are multi-dimensional and sympathetic. Q connects with the audience from the start, and it is hard not to be moved by his journey. The stage pictures are captivating as well--I'd love to see a creative director and design team realize this!

So often, it's easy for the poetry of a play to overwhelm the cohesion/linearity of the story. But not here. TJ blends the straightforward and the mysterious with such grace, humor, and compassion. Make no mistake—all of these characters make some egregious mistakes, but TJ never judges any of them. And thus the script becomes a thesis on radical empathy and forgiveness. Please check it out!

How do you find your voice when everything you loved has evaporated before your eyes? 'Lyon's Den' is a heartfelt, passionate meditation on the life of Q, a young African American man on the cusp of greatness unable to properly express the poetry in his soul. Dealing with family tragedy, misplaced anger, and the power of the unspoken, 'Lyon's Den' uses memory, spoken word, and collective grief to explore the path it takes to move forward after the unspeakable.

Such a powerful piece. Great tension between the characters. Excellent blend of styles and manipulation of time.

Young blends elements of Greek tragedy seamlessly into the modern day. The poetry pouring out of this piece is nothing short of extraordinary. There's also a wonderful blend of comedy seen in Young's spin of the Greek Chorus which gives the audience a chance to catch their breath. I can't express enough how much I love how it tackles grief in all its forms, how we grieve - how others perceive, even judge that grief.

Give LYON'S DEN a read.

This play was a FINALIST for the 2017-2018 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support LYON'S DEN.