←Recommendations of An Invocation To His Muse

This is a lovely little play about the choices we make and the ones other people - often men - make for us. A resonant, thoughtful meditation on loneliness, art, and female ambition/genius.

Oh wow. I did not know ANY of this about Edward Hopper's wife, but now I'm obsessed with her. What a sad, familiar story of a female artist silenced, told beautifully, somehow both simple and complex. It's not just about what it is to be a woman whose art is overshadowed by her husband's, but what it is to be an artist who never quite makes it in their own right, but plays a pivotal role in the creation of someone else's art. So much to think about in this short. Just lovely!

In this thought-provoking and tender play, Kantor's 'Jo Hopper' gives voice to all of the other women who have the title artist stripped from their world and replaced with - wife, lover, muse. So many incredible women artists pushed headfirst into the shadows by the men in their lives...

A breathtaking meditation on what it means to inspire. Be inspired. Serve as a muse, as an artist, as a human being. Aly Kantor has exposed the loneliness that comes from being looked at but never seen. Beautiful. Resonant.

Really beautiful work, All. I'll never look at Hopper's painting the same. I would love to see this piece up on its feet as there's something quiet and haunting that comes through in the story. Kantor sets the scene so well and her dialogue is carefully crafted. I can almost hear the buzzing sound of fluorescent lights above and taste the cake and snacks from the machines. Well done.

Stunning! Stark and yet full of detail, cold and yet full of warmth. A beautifully crafted atmosphere full of longing. I love Kantor's work.

From the opening moments in the well-created automat setting and the musing on choices made, this is an evocative, subtle and rich play. It explores the cost of being a muse and fame-adjacent and asks what could have happened, if other choices were made. I had the pleasure of seeing this at the Glass Splinters evening at the Pleasance in London, where it was beautifully and simply performed. I admire Hopper's work, but knew little of Jo Nivison, so that added to its appeal. The bittersweet ending surprised me. Would very much recommend.

Brilliantly written, Aly Kantor brings Josephine Hopper to life in this wonderful short play that brings a new lens on the world of art and art in general! Nicely done!

"I paint. He’s the painter. I gave that title up when I became his wife." Not the first time we have heard of talented women subordinating themselves to the domineering males in their lives. Gustav Mahler's widow Alma comes to mind, as does Felix Mendelssohn's sister Fanny. Aly Kantor has created here a lovely short meditation on the nature of art and the uneasy relationship between artist and muse. The real surprise is when the identities of both characters are revealed. This piece would play very well, but reads well too, not least for the stage directions.

Fantastic short play I was fortunate to see performed, which centers the wife of Edward Hopper (who, ironically and famously, created portraits of loneliness). Kantor puts Jo Hopper together with a young woman in an automat--or rather, THE automat, as in Jo's husband's famous painting--in a theatrical and inventive play that has much to say about art, the art world and women's lives. So well done!