←Recommendations of Shoptalk

A masterful one-act, truly one of the best out there in the world today. Moving, with inter-generational awareness, and the idea of legacy, how to live with a state of grief in a country of cruelty. Could not ask for a better piece of work on this, and what a gift it is for its audiences and the actors who get to embody these parts. A blessing.

I was lucky enough to see this one at the OOB Festival - a beautiful, moving play that brings a world to vivid life in a few pages. There's a powerhouse role for an older actor, but all three characters are well-crafted, filled with depth and nuance. Outstanding work.

SHOPTALK is poignant, cinematic and universally satisfying. Grief and humor are often conflated in real life. The barber shop represents a third place (where to gather when you're not home) for so many men. I found myself both cracking up and with my heart in my throat as I read this wonderful play.

Shine ironically says, "This ain't no sanctuary." And yet, the Shop couldn't be any more of a safe space for these men...it couldn't be any more a place for ritual and ceremony and sacrament and healing. As for the talk, Shider breathes life into his characters with a raw language-both spoken and unspoken-that is nothing short of lyricism. I see you Doc. I see you Walk In. I feel you Shine. Thank you for the window, TyLie Shider.

A great one-act with a gut punch of an ending. Shider lets us into a world where black men are allowed to let their guards down and be vulnerable.