←Recommendations of The Excavation of Mary Anning

A fantastic adventure to uncover the secrets that lie beneath as we strive to find understanding and leave a legacy. Well done.

What a fabulous adventure I had reading this beautiful and inventive play! It is utterly captivating. I loved the structure and the dialogue, which was sometimes poetic and always engaging. I am in awe of the playwright's imaginative staging, rich with sound and the use of darkness and light. This script is a masterclass in taking a piece of history and unearthing its relevance and making is so completely meaningful, accessible, and unforgettable.

The Excavation of Mary Anning is charming, witty, heart-felt, and tremendously fun. Full of a delightful cast of eccentric characters from fossilists to talking dogs to dinosaurs. Mary Anning asks us about why we must continue to discover and explore and dig. I cannot recommend this play highly enough.

Just spent the evening reading this play aloud with a group of friends - we were so taken by its humor, heart, ambition! So many exciting opportunities for performance and storytelling, could be perfect for college theatre programs and beyond. I love!!!

I must jump on the bandwagon and shout how much I adore this play! Not only for its humor, fabulously drawn characters and theatricality which it has in abundance, but also for its history and science both illuminated in most marvelous ways so that we can all appreciate how important they are! And while I knew the story of the lucky hammer and read with anticipation, the ending is immensely satisfying.

Strange, theatrical, and delightful! I love this play. I've loved Mary Anning since I was a kid and to watch her come to life on the page in this way is just so deeply satisfying, and that's this play: deeply satisfying. I would love a chance to see it staged.

I love this play so much! Ian's play makes history come alive in an effortless and joyful way!

It's rare for a play to be not only touching, tragic, funny, and warm - but also to defy conventions WHILE introducing audiences to a forgotten figure from history. Ian August achieves all this and more in The Excavation of Mary Anning. The play is breathtaking in its scope, without ever losing its sense of self... or its audience. An instant favorite.

As Stoppard immortalized Ada Lovelace in 'Arcadia', so August creates an indelible character in Mary Anning. But August does one better - imbuing this remarkable story with tremendous empathy for this young protagonist, giving her intelligence, wit and fight, as she stands at the center of some of the most wonderful characters I've read, within theatrical bounds that can only stoke the imagination. But this is not a purely historical play - instead, with humor and ease, August's work grapples with questions both topical and timeless. This play, one of four presented at the 2018 ANPF, is simply stunning. Wow.

I was grateful to see the presentation of this play at ANPF. It's both funny and deeply felt. A very fruitful dig through Anning's biography. Plus, the dog. Everyone loves the dog.