←Recommendations of Always

The short two-hander produces all the wonderful feels you hope it does when two seasoned actors are in the leads roles. DANA HALL creates a world of tenderness, fear, memories, and hope as audiences fall in love, for the first time with these characters, during their second time around...but most likely their 100th time around. Just beautiful.

Do tears count? I was tearing up at several points while reading this lovely short play. Two people who know each other well and cherish their relationship after years of being together find themselves at a scary point in their long lives. they recall long ago memories and dance their fears away. Magic.

I had the honour of production this piece for Audio Play podcast Theatrical Shenanigans and it was such a joy to produce. In a short space of time you get to know how much this couple have been and still are in love and how their love will continue despite the curve balls (like a trip to the hospital) life throws at them. The characters are lovingly and wonderfully constructed and, like all Dana's plays, you, as the audience believe whole heartedly in the beautiful relationship you are seeing. A lovely play I felt honoured to have on the show.

As I read this play I was struck by how strong the bond was between the characters. The fear Francis showed when confronted with the possibility of Harold not being there any more reinforced that bond. Nothing like a health scare to make the introspection flow and as the 2 reminisce, you feel how strong their love is. A positive story amidst a negative setting is a tricky thing to pull off. Luckily, Dana Hall is so adept at this kind of thing, the execution is flawless.

ALWAYS is a beautiful and emotionally heartfelt play that will leave readers/audiences smiling with tears in their eyes. Dana Hall has this incredible knack for creating strong characters and relationships, and ALWAYS is the perfect example of such.

A lovely, heartfelt play about enduring love. No matter how long you are together, even if you forget the details of your first meeting, you never forget the feelings.

What an evocative, emotionally resonant piece - so simple, so cleanly and clearly written - just a couple who have been together for fifty years and still love each other, portrayed with a deceptive subtlety. It's truly some beautiful writing.

DANA HALL “Always” is a beautiful piece of an older couple, who have been married for over half a century. I love the banter between these soulmates, who know each other completely. As a person in my 70’s and married for 49 years, I related to this piece in so many ways. Great job, Dana Hall!

Playwrights Take Note: ALWAYS is an object lesson in how to actively use backstory and create a subtle dramatic conflict even when both characters are technically on the same side.

Harold and Frances are managing a crisis and like many if not most couples, only one of them is allowed to be dramatic at a time. The result is a hilarious and moving nostalgia piece. You can help but hope that these two will have many more years together. You might even want to be them when you grow up and grow old.

Delightful from beginning to end!

50+ years of a relationship distilled into a brief 5 minutes that nonetheless convey a lifetime of love, pain, dependence, happiness… So beautifully rendered, with two roles for older actors that are meaty and vital. So touching.