←Recommendations of Rastus and Hattie

More than any other modern playwright Langford knows how to use robots and messy time blimps to their absolute best by answering as few questions as she can about how they got in the play and focusing entirely on why they're in the play in the first place. It's a thing of beauty.

A beautifully creative meditation on the common trauma we share from America's difficult past. In addition to a wonderfully innovative premise, the show is also as funny as it is heart wrenching.

A marvelous exploration that explores the lessons of generations on the present and the fundamental integration of trauma into our being. We can recognize the preciousness of the past and decide to keep living with optimism and hope. Beautifully done.

This play is incredible. I loved Needra and Malik's relationship and navigating their differences and how they work together as a couple. The concept is fascinating and executed brilliantly and I loved following Needra's discovery and viewpoints shifting. The fusion of past and present with the science fiction bend was so effective in presenting the different arguments for whether our ancestral trauma is what helps or hinders us.

This piece is so brilliant in the way it melds dark satire with both intellectually provocative sentiments and deeply emotional human truths. It incorporates multiple theatrical devices effortlessly. While all the characters were superbly drawn, Needra's journey in particular was navigated with a poignant and pointed metaphorical exploration of ingrained cultural trauma and identity formation. Highly theatrical in the best way!

I saw a reading of this play at the NNPN showcase in December 2018. This play is so funny, emotional, and genius in the way it weaves a satirical narrative about the world of the past, present, and future. Rastus and Hattie are two of the most fascinating characters I have seen in a play in a very long time.

Rastus and Hattie by Lisa Langford was featured in NNPN's 2018 National Showcase of New Plays.

I so admire the writing and the heart of this piece. Stunning.

This play is incredible. Razor-sharp, with a commanding point of view, and at the same time, it's just funny as hell. Langford works within themes that are at a constant, rolling boil in our society -- and she does so with such confidence and verve. I wish I could see this onstage, and producers should pay attention: Langford has penned a complete world that asks us important questions about how technology and the future digital age are fueled by our past, and present. There's SO MUCH pressure-per-square inch, on every single page of this script. I'm blown away.

OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR THE KITCHEN DOG THEATER 2018 NEW WORKS FESTIVAL
This play was selected for the Kitchen Dog Theater/Cleveland Public Theater/InterAct Theatre Company Cross-Pollination Initiative and received a staged reading as part of our annual New Works Festival.