←Recommendations of Rattler

Sexual assault has been a central topic for plays/tv shows/movies for many years and is considered very much a 'powder keg' issue. However, Adams takes this issue very cleverly from a new perspective. Reading the very real characters she creates as they talk about their lives and facing what can be one of the worst things for a family to go through brings this pice to a whole different level. For me, I could hear the characters as they talked and could feel for them. That, for me is something that makes great theatre!

RATTLER, about a support group for women whose family members have been accused of sexual assault, is a gripping and highly theatrical journey. In Lindsay Adams’ vision of this healing circle, the perpetrators are presumed to be innocent, with little dissent. Until there is. I couldn’t guess what was coming next, and its unexpected angle — that your son might be a perpetrator — is a fresh approach in a widening collection of plays about American sexual assault epidemic. Also loved that it revels in a highly theatrical time/space: a meeting room keeps morphing into different locations, keeping momentum going.

Challenging, though-provoking, and disturbing, "Rattler" takes an incisive look at a rape culture narrative we often miss: The mothers of the perpetrators. Jen's journey in realizing the darkness her Golden Boy child is capable of is compelling, and her character is complex and well-drawn. However, what really puts the audience between sympathy and disgust is the other women Jen meets in the play, who extol the virtues of the men in their lives regardless of their crimes. "Rattler" may make you uncomfortable, but it will also make you rethink a necessary conversation America has been having.

"Rattler" is an insightful, unsettling, and engaging play that deserves a wide audience. I absolutely loved the way Adams played with time and space in a theatrical way, using the support group to frame and punctuate and utilizing the furniture of that space to create other settings. Because the support group never visually disappears, it becomes the perfect extended metaphor for the insidious social forces that perpetrate and perpetuate rape culture and the silencing of women. Each character is well-drawn, and the eye towards intersectionality brings this piece to the next level. I hope to see it produced soon!

After finishing “Rattler,” it certainly lives up to its title. Adams utilizes her talent of carefully crafting dialogue that immerses the audience in a rattling scenario which we follow with full attention. An exploration of morality, society’s perception of sexual assault. Overall, “Rattler” is an important piece of theatre that should be read and staged. Actors and directors looking for a powerful piece should look no further than “Rattler.”

This is a thoughtfully crafted play that brings in a new perspective after a sexual assault - the side of the rapist's family. One of Lindsay Adams' strengths is to be able to craft work that addresses social commentary in an inventive way. I listened to a reading of this play in the spring of 2019, and everyone in the audience was engaged and full of questions after the reading. This is a strong work that needs to be performed in front of wider audiences.

This play is relentless in the examinations of social mores and dynamics that are usually written off as "just the way it is." Lindsay Adams creates a play that has its moments of humor but never losing the the gravity of a mother's love being tested by the alleged crimes of a son. It's a play that makes you reevaluate preconceived notions along with Jen as you take this journey with her. The play has wonderful levels and dialogue that actors and directors can grasp quickly and bring to life almost effortlessly.

Rattler is a deftly crafted new play that pulls no punches. Adams leads us through this minefield of issues with curiosity and confidence. An unrelenting look at how rape culture manifests in small town America.