←Recommendations of EGG IN SPOON

Saw this gem at the 2019 Midwest Dramatists Conference. Four generations of women in a near-term dystopia. Their dialogue is hysterical — in both expected and totally unexpected ways for their roles in the family and society. Once we know the characters, we take a hard (but well-earned) turn to drama, almost horror (certainly horrific). Great work!

An incredible play that starts as a warm, funny story of four generations of women that draws the audience in, takes a sharp left turn, and indicts the audience. The dystopian elements are both subtle and disturbing. And it all feels so real and accessible, which makes it even darker. Check this play out!

A whirlwind turned maelstrom of a conversation between four generations of women, EGG IN SPOON covers a tremendous amount of ground in a very short time. The issues are woven so seamlessly into the conversation, which in itself is incredibly lively and entertaining, the play doesn't even feel political until it gut-punches you with the reality of the world in which these women live. An intricate microcosm about the challenges women face at varying stages of life, past, present, and possibly in the future! Great roles for female-identifying actors and easy to produce.

EGG IN SPOON moves from fun and entertaining to absolutely terrifying in the span of minutes. The reader/viewer has the chance to enjoy some wonderful banter between the four women on stage before things suddenly become very dark and scary. Carnes has delivered a play that expertly shows how the erosion of rights that would seem to be universal not only can disappear, but can disappear with a whimper, without anyone seeming to care. In 2018, as we watch and listen to what’s happening to our world, this is an incredibly important and powerful play.

I can see why this play will be performed soon in London and really should be required viewing and reading by every one going through adolescence and those people around them. Such a brilliant piece by Carnes who just continues to impress and amaze me with every play I read. She can have you laughing in one place with such force and then turn around and zing you with the gravity of the situation and neither ever seem forced. I would select this play for inclusion on everyone's reading list as well as viewership!

A great showcase for multiple generations--of actresses and issues. This play would be funny if it weren't so dead-on and disturbing. Nah, it will still be really funny. Combining funny with dead-on and disturbing makes for a great play.

Don't drop the egg in the spoon, pregnancy, a life changed because of another life - the fragility of life, the fragility of choice, the fragility of women - there's a lot going on in this short piece and none of it's easy. All of it is possible. There are four generations of women on stage who have known varying women's rights. The youngest has none of them. Darkly funny and frightening, you do wonder - what happens when women's rights are as fragile as the egg in the spoon? A timely and thoughtful play with four meaty female roles.

Rachael Carnes peers dreadfully into the future in “Egg in Spoon.” Three women are culpable in the destiny of a fourth in this dystopian world where reproductive rights have become as fragile as the egg in the childhood game being played outside. Carnes is reading the tea leaves of our current political climate... and speaking as the parent of a daughter, what she is foreseeing is frightening to me. A strong cautionary tale that I’m convinced isn’t far from the realm of possibility.

I can't think of a better play that has included women of various ages/generations as this play. What a gift for female actors! This play is remarkable for another reason: effortlessly presenting through its conflict the distinct character voices that capture different life and generational perspectives on womanhood, reproduction, and sexuality. I didn't read the summary before reading the play; I recommend you don't read it.