←Recommendations of Corrector

Is death the loss of our body? Or our soul? What are we if not our identity? Gill’s one-act prompts these juicy questions and so many more, serving a slick, genre-fied metaphor for how refugees are expected to adapt (unforgivingly so) to the culture of the country in which they seek shelter. It’s not only a chilling scene, but one both nuanced & humane, tackling the complexities of what it means to be and stay human amidst so much violence and terror. And, of course, what it means to give it up.

"Corrector" is an exceptional play in that although the events are not fixed, the universality of the characters’ situation is inherent. It could be any of us for any reason, which is what makes the piece so terrifying. Max’s dialogue is sly and simple. The characters give us just enough information to understand what’s going on in a broader sense without pinpointing it with specificity, so we automatically make it what we need it to be. Profound! Dark! Funny where we need it to be. Recommended!

06.25.25 - The most fascinating piece I saw at the Valdez Theatre Conference, this nightmare possible future envisions the ultimate attempt as assimilation, not at a linguistic or a cultural level, but at a genetic one, which is frightening beyond belief (and no doubt on some think-tank's "Honey, Do" list.) Max Gill takes us into a land of changing people beyond recognition. When one character says, "Because something in this world is very wrong." it hits the nail on the head with a bullet.

I was blown away by Max's play at the Valdez Theatre Conference, 2025. It was a dark future projection of what can happen in a world devoid of compassion. Affluent countries pride themselves on accepting refugees. But it comes at a great cost to the refugee's humanity. A future, I pray, never materializes.

Corrector asks a big question: will a refugee agree to erase everything about his past if that's the price required to remain in what seems a safe haven? Maximillian Gill's play takes you in one direction and you're sure you know where it's going. But you don't. I was engaged at every moment of this play as it asks its big question of us. Corrector speaks to where we find ourselves today: who are we and who is "the other"? Corrector shows that we can be more frightening than that "other".

When I saw this powerful play read at the Valdez Theatre Conference 2025 it made me angry and uncomfortable, which is good. There are not many places where the plight of refugees is expressed so powerfully, so succinctly or so chillingly. Acted brilliantly by Ben Corbett and Frank Collison, one really felt the desperation, humiliation and loss of a vulnerable refugee and the lavish power enjoyed by the Corrector. A highly relevant play for the times we live in.

Just what is it we're asking of desperate human beings seeking refuge in an unfamiliar land when we invoke that anodyne word "assimilation?" That's the question Maximillian Gill's asking in CORRECTOR, presented as the kind of morally grounded, seemingly naturalistic, ever more terrifying fable that would make Serling proud. The answers he finds should knock the complacency out of even the most comfortable, jaded theatregoer. An unsettling little gem.

A chilling, complex, disturbing, and utterly human look at the complexities of immigration, fleeing violence, the plight of the refugee, and the complex realities of othering in a host nation’s society. Max Gill has achieved a rare feat in this short work. He has distilled a prescient yet timeless matter and gave room to hold its entire complexity within the span of 20 minutes and a single song’s payment. This play needs to be seen everywhere. I cannot recommend this play enough.

GOTTDAMN, MAX GILL!!!

What starts as a Kafkaesque spin on the refugee crisis... Well... When you start at Kafkaesque...
CORRECTOR is a consistently suspenseful, subtly surreal, and ultimately jawdropping examination of both the abhorrence of xenophobic persecution and perils of assimilation. The choices are impossible yet must be made. But what starts out as a nigh on hopeless scavenger hunt for decency also reveals humanity where it seems to have disappeared. A gut punch!

I saw a reading of this play at the Valdez Theatre Conference 2025, and it stayed with me for hours after: the quiet desperation of the refugee countered by the quiet iciness of the Corrector. It had all of the elements of the best of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" with its minimalist dialogue that very succinctly told the story in chilling detail. Absolutely stunning.