←Recommendations of Never Again

This. Is. So. Good.
The Lottery was one of the first horror stories I ever read and it freaked me out. Never Again by Donna Hoke imagines the creative process that gripped Shirley Jackson, a young mother juggling babies and her creative writing. It was fascinating to be a fly on the wall of sorts as the male editors tried to figure this story out, and then the great touch with the rocks coming in with complaints from New Yorker readers who demanded to stop their subscriptions. Truly awesome and truly original!

In NEVER AGAIN by Donna Hoke, the world of 'The Lottery' opens up even more about the values we hold dear, scapegoating, and a mob mentality. As a fan of the original short story, I was so engrossed in the world that Hoke created in this play, meeting the author and those in her publishing circle. Facing the same issues that also resonate in the short story, NEVER AGAIN navigates the connected themes with both subtlety and a sharp focus. This play is a great companion piece to the short story and wonderful art on its own.

A fascinating piece of literary history we never knew as Shirley Jackson faces an unbelievable amount of controversy for writing a story people didn't understand. Well done.

Any fan of The Lottery will delight in this delicious, highly theatrical exploration of how the themes in Shirley Jackson’s classic short story were echoed in and vindicated by the public response to the story itself. In its brevity, its tone, and its distaste for explication, this play serves as a terrific tribute to its source material. And that ending is super sharp.

Hoke uses the story behind the writing and publication of Shirley Jackson’s ever-relevant masterpiece, ‘The Lottery,’ as a springboard for exploring issues about the mysterious source of storytelling, mob mentality, and a larger, perhaps unanswerable, question about base human motives. Packing an impressive amount of subtext into a ten-minute play, she also adds brilliantly-imagined touches—reader complaint letters arriving at ‘The New Yorker’ wrapped around rocks is a pointed example. The final line of the play is both poignant and chilling.

This play is a great take on the classic short story ¨The Lottery¨. I can see it being the perfect choice for short play festivals especially at high schools wanting to bring the story and the history behind it to life. But it is also a great read for anyone who has encountered Shirley Jackson´s work or has an interest in the struggle of female writers in the 20th century.

Wonderful and full of surprises that feel earned. It would be awesome to see onstage! A smart and savvy play for all ages!

Hoke’s thoughtful deconstruction of ‘The Lottery’ brings its beloved author and its mythic behind-the-scenes controversy to life. She untangles the source material with wisdom and theatrical cleverness; in doing so, she creates an enviable lead role for Shirley Jackson and an opportunity for an intrepid director.

Shirley Jackson lives! What could have become a very staid, hidebound piece (plays about writing and writers are so often word-heavy) becomes neatly, theatrically three-dimensional with the addition of, among other key props, a typewriter and a number of dangerous rocks. The one with the black mark at the end is especially on-point. "It isn't fair!" And yes, we should still be frightened––deeply, in our innermost selves––by "The Lottery."

With a touch of wicked and ironic humor, "Never Forget" is a story of artistic birth and public shaming that eventually and cleverly folds into its source material. The playwright astutely takes on the the inscrutable role of an artists being forced to explain her creation, and is able to tie in themes feminism and puritanism at the same time. A bibliophile's delight, and enviable role for an actress.