←Recommendations of Whirlpool

Unsettling, funny, sweet, painful, and an intimate glimpse into friendship and young love gone wrong. The story is well told in non-linear fashion, giving the reader both history and foreshadowing as they weave the full story together. Great roles for two actors. Beautiful work.

This is a touching, nuanced look at the struggle to find one's identity while navigating the complexities of young friendship and love. The relationship at the heart of the play is beautifully drawn, and you're immediately intrigued to know how Caleb and Blake will resolve the tension between them, and where it began. A satisfying coming-of-age story.

A beautiful coming of age story when friendship turns to romance -- and the confusion, longing, struggles, denials, betrayals that the young can't articulate. When these two meet and reflect together in maturity, the healing can begin.

This play makes me yearn so much for romance! Whirlpool never reaches melodramatic heights, instead opting for the heat and tension we can find in everyday interactions. Jonathan's play shows the intimacy that's possible in queer love stories, while never denying the complexity that such a relationship deserves. A great choice for producers that embrace the romance, coming-of-age, or drama genre.

In this powerful two-hander, we come to see the evolution of the relationship between Caleb and Blake. Chronology jumps are used effectively and the irregularly paced mix of shorter and longer scenes give us the overall scope and impression of this relationship in a nuanced, thoughtful, intentionally constructed way. Coming out, conceptions of masculinity, friendship, and identity are all explored with a refreshing complexity. It's also wonderful to see a coming of age/coming out story about young cis men grappling with masculinity that doesn't resort to physical trauma, but rather focuses on smaller emotional seismic shifts.