←Recommendations of The Thing That Happened

A fantastic interwoven tale, The Thing That Happened illustrates tragedy while thoroughly engrossing its audience. Through horror, kindness, fear, and love we see how the devastation of one day can touch so many. You will be moved, touched and amused.

Possibly the most moving, insightful, and clever work I've encountered regarding this topic. Do yourself a favor and read this.

I really wanted to figure out what this play was "about." Every time I thought I had it, I'd read another short, and my answer would change. Such is the nature of grief and healing - a nebulous, shape-shifting thing with no easy answers. The thesis? Actions have consequences!

This play explores beauty and pain from so many unique angles, all tied to one traumatic event. The collection is simultaneously heightened and mundane, relatable and thoroughly alien, but always incredibly moving. Finding the connections between plays kept me engaged, but each self-contained story is riveting on its own!

Gorgeously written!

This is compelling, funny, heartbreaking and timely. One of those pieces I both deeply enjoyed reading and really want to see onstage ASAP.

Read all six of the chapters in this anthology! The story starts with the thing that happened – a horrific tragedy – and follows with five vignettes, distinct stories with distinct characters but all related in some way to the inciting incident. Vince Gatton’s storytelling reveals the wide-ranging impact of violence and gives us characters for whom we care deeply. Really an outstanding collection of short plays!

In these pages, Vince Gatton builds a world filled with vibrant and distinct characters written with the care of a writer whose brain has let them live a hundred lives. With amazing dialogue and storytelling, Gatton weaves the thread of tragedy through each of these pieces and comes away with a patchwork quilt filled with beauty. Here, he punches you and then hands you ice cream. You sit amused until the horror grips you and then you relax your shoulders with the tufts of hope, and it repeats. This is a lovely read. My personal favorite was Cassie Strickland.

The writing in this anthology is tense and clever, exploring a single horrible event in unexpected ways. Gatton's dialogue is suitably dark, while also feeling lively, exciting, funny, scary, and poignant, while also tackling extreme effects of masculinity, gun violence, and the American workplace in a direct and thoughtful way.

Such a gorgeous piece of writing! Disparate plays connected by events. Raw, funny, real characters, emotionally on edge the whole time. Brilliant work.

A dark and hilarious look at violence in the workplace and the world we live in. Fantastic!