←Recommendations of The Three Twilights

An epic. Timeless. Captivating language interwoven with intense intimate relationships, this world doesn’t ask you to pay attention, it demands it. A beautiful investigation of royalty, power dynamics, black queer experiences, lineage, and ancestry. Never have I been excited for a third act, until this play. After seeing a reading of it last year, presented by the Civilians’ R&D Group, it’s clear that Burke has created an unforgettable universe that not only deserves to be felt, but studied and celebrated.

If you love high-stakes plots, characters that you are instantly invested in, epic stories that are told in a saga, and historical narratives brought to the stage with unabashed beauty then look no further than this second installment of Burke's Suncatcher's masterpiece. Burke is a master of language. Evocative. Thrilling. Passionate. The stage directions themselves sing of a new way to do theatre!

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced THE SUNCATCHERS OF SAHEL: AN ANCESTRAL TALE TOLD TO TODAY'S GRIOT as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were compelled by this high stakes story of warring cousins wrestling with their personal loves & traumas while their civilization is tangled in the web of European slave trade. We were engaged by the heightened language, bringing African history to daylight, and the complicated relationships rendered. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

This is truly an amazing epic story that will engage audience members from beginning to end. As the plot unfolds, it wraps you tight, keeping you deeply engaged throughout. Wonderfully written, the characters are powerful, hilarious, truthful and beautifully inspiring. When these characters get upset, so will you. When they are sad, so will you be. When they smile, I promise you'll feel joy. This play is for actors, is for queer love, is for making a statement on the stage. This play will inspire you to tell your great story.

A winning continuation of Burke's Suncatchers series! I had the immense pleasure of seeing a live reading courtesy of The Civilians' R&D Group. This is a rare breed of sequel that gracefully introduces newcomers without encumbering the narrative with retread exposition. At the same time, those who experienced the first play are rewarded with oodles of contextual callbacks that support the unfolding narrative.

Though the world of The Two Twilights is as vast as it's predecessor, it's main conflict is deeply intimate and personal. The consequences however, threaten to destroy everyone and everything should peace fail to be preserved.

The epic tale of black queer love and joy continues and the stakes are even higher as this story crescendos to a shocking and terrifying end. I seriously can't wait to see a six hour production of these plays in one day. We'll get brunch, then part 1, then dinner, then part 2, then dancing and love-making all night long because that is exactly what these characters would want us to do. This is a major accomplishment for literature! Bravo!