←Recommendations of The King's Plague (Rielle and the Owl Hunter - Part I)

This script is solid. I LOVE the use of the moon and sun characters, so theatrical. This story moves and I can't wait to see what happens next to these characters. The ending is totally satisfying to solidify this script as a complete night of theatre while at the same time laying the ground work for future parts. Fantasy on stage! Do it! With this play!

Wow! Fantasy isn't a genre that gets a lot of love in theatre these days. But Daniel Prillaman has a vision and any theatre willing to stage this (and its sequels) will earn my utmost respect. More likely, they'll keep producing musical versions of 80s and 90s flicks. But the inner D&D nerd in me hopes they'll come around and tell tales of knights and swashbucklers and kingdoms in peril. A fella can dream.

Anyway, this is good stuff. You should give it a read.

Daniel Prillaman’s knack for writing genre is in full effect in this fantasy adventure. Set in a mideval world that’s familiar yet totally original, RATOH’s greatest asset is it’s dynamic use of language; at times evoking Shakespearean formality, at others colloquial directness, and, in his dreamlike personifications of the sun and moon, poetry. These linguistic shifts are pulling triple duty, telling us much about relationship and character arcs, as well as offering clues to the intricacies of this darkly fantastical world. In a departure from typical quest stories, complex female characters are front and center.

The remarkable and astute Daniel Prillaman excels at a wide array of dramatic genres. RIELLE AND THE OWL HUNTER is my first foray into his dark fantasyland and I devoured this full length in one sitting, something I never do. The world of the play, the elevated diction, the wit, the cool doubling effects with Sun and Moon, the Lear-like opening (only it’s the Queen in charge), the ensuing primogeniture tension between royal siblings, and a treacherous road journey all combine for an enchanting read. Swords fly and cut through the air while in the hands of women!

Reluctant murders! Thematic storytelling through movement! Swordfighting! Heightened language! Duplicity! Ruminations on the nature and implications of power in the hands of mankind! I could keep listing and exclaiming, but I only have 100 words, and I need to use a few of them to talk about the tight, immersive worldbuilding, the endless possibilities for stunning staging, and the gorgeous, self-aware poetry of this piece! My biggest (only) gripe is that I have to wait for Part II to know what's going to go down in Mithun! Beautifully structured, visually stunning, and simultaneously original and familiar. Just read it!