←Recommendations of Five

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.

This is a sad tale of loneliness. and yet hope. Hope that answers will come and questions answered. Julian needs an answer to the most important question in his life, and the audience will be relieved at the ending.

Secrets and revelations can be difficult at the best of time but when a secret has been held for so long there is no telling how a person will react. That is the world Jaxson explores in "Five" where a boy faces a secret about his own life. The characters are beautifully constructed and there is a wonderful closeness between them. The play gives such tremendous amounts of emotions you can't fail but feel for Julian. That role could be an amazing part for any actor to play and the piece is sure to leave a tear.

As a special education teacher, I was moved by the genuinely loving but splintered relationship between this father and son on the autistic son’s twentieth birthday. The dialogue is very believable and the dramatic revelation is touchingly poignant. This will surely spark important discussions in post-performance talkbacks about how children, all children need honesty, security, and, most of all, love.

So fascinating what a simple photo of a Mario cake in a trashcan can elicit with various playwrights.

JAXSON brings struggle, pain, and secrets to life in this emotional short play. One simple question yields big results that will change lives forever.

It can be difficult to reckon with the untold truths of one's childhood, and Jaxson Mackling's protagonist in Five has quite the bomb dropped on him on his twentieth birthday. There is an intimacy to the dialogue in this play, between an autistic son and his presumed neurotypical father, and also a harshness that is fitting given the subject matter. This is a short play that packs a punch.

This is an important play which needs to be staged, at a time where, finally there is more understanding and acceptance of autism. It's beautiful, sad, moving and funny in equal measure. Excellent.