FIVE by Jaxson Mackling is a real example of a boy, now a man, who happens to have autism, grappling with the fact that his facts have been lies. It's wonderfully constructed, and Julian's pain is easily felt by all, and recognizable to me as a neurodivergent person, even if I have not had my world turned upside down in the way he has. Mackling has the whole piece under control, and it would be a fantastic piece to see on stage.

We all have those moments where we wonder if we were adopted or sometimes just wish we had been due to circumstances where we feel that this people who say they are our parents can't be. We also have gone through the identity of who we are and who we want to be as adult and sometimes that's not who are parents are at all. Julian finds out some serious facts on his 20th birthday and Mackling shows us that even when the world's turned upside down, sometimes a son just needs to talk to his mother.

I hated the fact that this story is confined to a short play. Jaxson has written very real characters that you root for, empathize with, and relate to. This show needs an audience for everything that the characters represent, for the authenticity and storytelling. Highly recommend.