←Recommendations of AZTEC PIRATES & THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS

This play is equal parts heartbreaking and riveting. Page after page I was left wondering what was going to happen next- and what the next reveal would be. Davila creates incredibly honest characters caught between two worlds, two sides of the border, and on both sides of the identity crisis of conqueror vs. conquered. Rarely does a play speak of border agents forced to face their own Latinx identity. Davila plays with time and memory, past and present in a way that is clear, theatrical, and serves the story in a crucial way. I absolutely loved this reading this play.

Aztec Pirates makes the subject of ICE and U.S. policy on immigration human and relatable. The pace and action is thrilling, while the relationships are satisfyingly complex. Johnny's unravelling had me literally reading the play from the edge of my seat. I was also struck by the unassumingly theatrical nature of David Davila's writing. With lights, dialogue, and stage directions alone, he artfully weaved multiple characters and locations with cinematic fluidity and ease.

Davila’s use of the structure in this play is crucial to its tone. You could say it’s cinematic, but really it’s dreamlike, giving the audience the dizzying feeling of having your beliefs questioned same as Johnny is experiencing. The parallel story about Michelle and Salvador is a heartbreaking foil to the other couples (friends and romantic alike). The magnifying glass is on how we’re all complicit in this country’s atrocities and it burns hot and slow.

How do we exist in a land that rejects us? How do we love when we have to choose between identities to do so? How can the enemy be your own home? These are the questions I think about as I read Davila's incredible examination of what US/Mexico border life is, not outside the politics, but with them in the background, humanity upfront. Building from its first part, and ending it with an eye toward the future, Davila provides a strong chapter to his trilogy.

An intense and utterly brave look at the horrific struggles of the undocumented from the perspective of an ICE officer. Johnny is an extremely complex character; he commits unspeakable acts, but in this play we are forced to look him in the eyes and recognize him as human. Around him are a number of well-drawn characters who offer different perspectives and opinions on complicated issues of identity. A scathing and riveting work that speaks to our times without ever flinching.

This is a play I wish I had written! The politics and themes of the play resonant deep because we've been talking about them for years and little has changed. Many plays have examined immigration and the American dream, but few are set in a south Texas border town that thrives and struggles to live in two different worlds. The world of the play is set brilliantly with room for characters to be introduced in parts two and three to make this trilogy complete.

The play paints a world that's unfortunately all too familiar with our country. It speaks to the contradictions of absolutes when truths are hidden and a broken system is disguised as hope. The story moves brilliantly from moment to desperate moment, bringing into the spotlight what it means to be American and more importantly, what is there to lose.