←Recommendations of Sugar

Sugar cleverly transforms an ordinary neighborly interaction into a quiet act of rescue and courage. The gradual reveal of what’s really happening behind Lilia’s closed door is handled with restraint and emotional precision, making the final moments land with real power. O’Grady captures both the fear of abuse and the fragile possibility of escape in a way that feels intimate, human, and deeply hopeful.

I highly recommend Sugar by Jennifer O’Grady. As a reader, I was immediately pulled in by the slow-burn tension and the sense that something more urgent lurked beneath a simple request for sugar. The play is both suspenseful and deeply human, revealing the quiet bravery it takes to reach out—and the life-saving power of doing so.

This short play is so important and impactful. JADEN and LILIA are well drawn and believable characters. I went into this play not knowing who to trust and what to believe. I finished feeling empowered and heartened. This play should be seen worldwide and by women of all ages everywhere.

Excellent work! The characters and dialogue lead us carefully over the egg shell landscape and softly deposit us into a powerful denouement. Excellently written and executed!

This is an incredible example of how to construct a short play! An overly friendly neighbor asks to borrow some sugar, but that's not really what the play is about, and the subtext runs all the way through it to the reveal at the end. What a fabulous piece!

Taut and tense -- in the best possible ways. There's an eerie feeling to the early going that is more than paid for by the turn the story takes. Excellent writing, a deep well of feeling masked by what sounds like the most mundane conversation. Just great.

Immaculately constructed, O'Grady seamlessly transforms a mundane scenario into a moment of gorgeous, humanity-affirming connection. The dialogue is spare and realistic, with just enough quiet subtext to clue the audience in that something is not quite typical about this interaction between neighbors. The reversal will take your breath away and make you believe in the kindness of strangers. Gorgeous, important, empowering, and impressively efficient, this short is a moving, affecting powerhouse!

What starts out as an…overly friendly neighbor(?) encounter slowly and gradually becomes something altogether different. Thank God for Jaden’s persistence. Without spoiling anything, the actual subject at hand is incredibly complex and difficult to navigate, no matter your role. So again, thank God for Jaden’s persistence. Excellent short play.

If only there were more Jadens in the world and less of Lilia's boyfriend. This is powerful and hopeful and perhaps will give audiences the tools and ideas to look out for one another like Jaden did for Lilia.

Not a beat is wasted in this elegantly written thriller of a 10-minute play. I was fortunate to attend a performance and SUGAR held the audience spellbound while it drew us a map to a necessary and real escape route. Wonderful, useful work! Deserving of many productions.