←Recommendations of Olly Olly Oxen Free

I recently had the opportunity to watch a performance of this short play during Bump in the Night Theatre’s “Jump Scares: Vol. 1.” Floyd-Priskorn’s dialogue flies off the page, but it sings in the space. A good-natured game slowly becomes something much, well...less good-natured. The tension ratchets up and up until a terrifying ending, one you'll most certainly take home with you. Brilliant.

11/29/2024. Holy cow! OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE is how you do horror on stage. Playwright Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn really has a knack for how to build tension. What begins as a fairly innocent game of tag turns sinister at epic proportions. I caught this with Bump In The Night Theatre's Jump Scares festival, where I was sitting in the back row, biting away my nails in fear and anticipation!

This play would be so much fun and so thrilling for actors to do! I loved the creepiness and the build up of tension and fear within this play! Soo Good!!

Oh how I loved this play. Floyd-Priskorn beautifully captures the exhaustion, anxieties, and confusion of her characters with quippy back-and-forths that build tension in the story and dread in her audience. The language is chilling and the visuals are hauntingly lovely. Impressively unsettling for such a short piece!

I'm officially creeped out. The ratcheting of tension builds to a climax that will claim many a sleepless night for audiences lucky (and brave) enough to see this. Plenty of sub-text to mull over as well - as you're lying awake at night anticipating the issuance of the god-like disembodied voice of doom. Rules? We don't need no stinking rules. Well done.

A great piece that incorporates the legends of stone circles along with a general fear of the unknown. The back and forth is great, adding to the sense of dread both characters have.

10/26/24: This was a very creepy horror piece. Loved how the tension kept building throughout until it reaches a climax that leaves one feeling very exposed indeed. The sense of uncertainty over the whole situation gives the play a creeping sense of dread that leaves you thinking about what you've read or witnessed long after you've finished. Great for any spooky festival or just plain spooky season itself!

The shifting and escalating sense of menace is absolutely riveting. The slippery sense of Marty's role - is he the menace or the menaced? - kept me on the edge of my seat. We are pitched into a world where expected rules no longer seem to apply - another element that keeps us off-balance. The final moments are filled with true, earned terror.

Fantastically creepy short horror-play that works beautifully on its own terms and can also be seen as a metaphor for many other things. Floyd-Priskorn skillfully builds suspense with taut lines and a story that's increasingly (and wonderfully) scary. Perfect for Halloween or any time!

Chilling, absolutely chilling. Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn sets a building tension that unsettles the soul. Subtle until you find yourself terrorized, this short play is bound to send shivers down your spine.