←Recommendations of Family History

This is a messed-up piece in the best way 😂 Family History is a very suspenseful whodunnit, but it’s also heartbreaking family drama with two fascinating, flawed, deeply human primary characters. A total gut punch of a play.

Set in Kansas, FAMILY HISTORY is a domestic murder mystery - a genre in which RFW excels. This thrilling play, ostensibly about a family’s “temper gene,” is driven by Michael and his sister Sydney, siblings who share a dark secret: the death of their father fifteen years prior to their return home. As the pressure builds their dynamic is both touching and menacing as the playwright keeps us guessing all the way to the end. I admire how Rachel weaves in nostalgia, particularly with Grandmother. And the theatrical use of offstage voices for the intense denouement. Well done.

Well, here's a family with an awful lot of history!
The tension builds dramatically as we follow siblings Michael and Sydney travel back to their home in Kansas, but there's no wizardry dream here, but a past event which was always going to come back to bite them.
This is Rachel doing what she loves best, and the twist she throws at us at the end will have audiences reeling!

The tension that Rachel Feeny-Williams creates her is absolutely palpable. This story is extremely well thought out and developed. This is absolutely a fantastic work of theatre that Rachel takes audiences on.

Once again, RFW has convinced me she should be writing cinematic thrillers and serial crime dramas. The twists in this play are non stop, like a great roller coaster ride! I can even see this story continuing as there is so much character and chaos to mine from all these details. I bet it was absolutely mind-boggling visualizing the map in RFW's mind as this story was being concocted!

In this tense family drama, RFW has the reader on a string from the word "go." She masterfully reveals tiny hints one tempting tidbit at a time until you find yourself leaning so far forward in your seat that your forehead is touching the ground! As soon as the pieces begin to come together, your jaw will surely join your forehead! It's a complex story full of twists, turns, red herrings, and sneaky clues about the truth. Don't get too attached to any of the characters—there really are no "good guys" to be found here! What a tense ride!

So many secrets! Who can you trust? You can trust Rachel Feeny-Williams to keep you guessing about what happened the night Michael and Sydney’s father died and so much more! Full of twists and red herrings, FAMILY HISTORY is a mystery/thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Perfectly crafted for stage or audio production. I hope it finds many opportunities for both!

Small towns and families have secrets. In one particular family in one particular small town, one of those secrets is who caused the death of an alcoholic and abusive man. Family members, old friends, and romantic rivals all have opinions about who did it. Rachel Feeny-Williams works out the solution to this mystery in a very satisfying script that keeps you guessing even after you think you've identified the murderer. Very good, intriguing work.

Wow. This is a pot boiler of a suspense story. Family secrets, betrayal, and the unshakeable feeling of dread. Delivering a balanced comeuppance is a difficult feat that Rachel pulls off with a deft touch. This could easily be a film, and is most certainly a well crafted event for the stage!

For fifteen long years, Michael had faithfully guarded his sister's dark and ominous secret. However, everything changes when she unexpectedly appears in his office one fateful day... they go back home to their small, tight-knit community, and we are thrown into a web of family secrets, simmering tensions, and elaborate cover-up stories that had festered for generations. The lines between justifications and excuses blur. Time has a relentless way of catching up with those who dared to conceal the truth for too long. BRAVA!