←Recommendations of down cellar

An absolutely terrifying horror play that also feels like an honest depiction of neurotypical people. A play that shows how mental illness impacts women in very different ways. A play about trauma and the harm that can be perpetuated by the people we love. I was really amazed by this play. It goes to some really wild places. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I need to see this play produced. It's an absolute feast for actors, directors and creative teams. Lots of stage magic.

There’s a story somewhere about the making of ‘Halloween’ (1978), how the plot is akin to someone slowly stretching a rubber band until it becomes so tense it pops. Jordan Elizabeth Henry achieved this same effect wonderfully with ‘Down Cellar.’ The suspense in this piece is sometimes too much to bear, but it culminates in a satisfying and macabre conclusion that, without giving too much away, would make the old horror masters smile.

Horror is so difficult on stage because you can't cut away. You have to consistently build and pace your tension down to the second, and Henry does this masterfully. "Down Cellar" is a dark, horrific poem packed to the brim with sick, scary visuals that would both fascinate an audience and give them nightmares. Most frighteningly, the story is all too real, and as the characters reveal more and more of their true selves, our terror grows. A brilliant piece.

This is a masterfully original take on the cabin in the woods style horror story and to be able to accomplish that in the medium of theatre is a testament to the fact that a great, imaginative, innovative, playwright is all it takes.

Down Cellar, in a cleverly deceptive manner, begins with a light-hearted and perhaps even comedic (in the traditional sense) tone with a very awkward coming together...but as we learn more and more the story evolves into something sinister and delightfully suspenseful.

Jordan Elizabeth Henry serves up a horrifically refreshing play!

WOW. HOLY SH*T. A truly tense, deliciously scary play about breaking dangerous patterns we learn from our parents.

This is a taut, briskly-moving thriller. The hermetically-contained environment of the cabin was an excellent choice for setting--there is much visually to be done with the simultaneous action described. Like all good horror, this piece goes beyond shock value and explores important themes--namely trauma, assault, and PTSD. The characters are interesting (hooray for normalized queer characters whose sexuality is not the big "to do" of the piece!) and revelations come at a steady clip. Bookending the piece with fire imagery/sound is a powerful choice! The use of spectres is an appropriately haunting theatrical sleight of hand.