←Recommendations of Recent Impending Events

Beautifully crafted dialogue between a man and a woman who wake up nose to nose on the floor of a train to the West Coast. Syran quickly and deftly spins the audience into a lively, occasionally tense, but mostly genial debate about the origin of the earth and how science and religion are historically at odds with one another, though they can and do coexist, and certainly complement one another. Solid work. A great addition to any shorts festival.

Faith, by definition, cannot ever be explained in concrete terms. Science, on the other side of the coin, demands them. It can’t exist without them. Syran’s concise, chance meeting between two strangers prompts the challenging question, “but does any of that mean they have to disprove the other?” A beautiful dialogue in what is surely an encounter these two characters will never forget, and I’d say the same for an audience.

A cross country train ride sparks perhaps a bit of romance and a love of the earth from two very different perspectives. When Nora Louise Syran is doing the writing, you can be sure of an intelligent, thoughtful presentation. What we learn from her two strangers on a train is that science and faith can coexist. And both can be questioned (within reason). A charming story that will hopefully inspire similar conversations among audience members.

A very brave and thoughtful discussion about science and faith shared by two people who don't necessarily agree what those words mean. But where there could be friction and bristling, instead there's communication and patience.
I'm not sure Syran's characters will change each other's minds. I'm not even sure this play will change any audience members' minds. I AM sure this is the play in your festival that everyone will be talking about.

A lived-in, cozy but challenging parable of tolerance, active listening, and the spectrum of faith.

A smartly written play, debate, conversation that gives you an appreciation for those that speak without yelling, question without judging and listen when its hard. A thoughtful discourse emerges from a mild flirtation. A play where love goes beyond the attraction between people and jumps to love of the earth, love of faith, and love of the search for new knowledge.

I was all aboard this two-hander about strangers on a train from the moment it left the station. (Okay, enough railroad allusions.) This is a nice moment in the lives of two people with different faiths finding common ground in their differences and avoiding stereotypes and character tropes as they travel through the scenery that only enhances the narrative. Moments like these are to be cherished, and Nora Louise Syran does it so well.

12.20.24 - A smartly written faith vs science meet-cute that doesn't talk down to either side. While most people would inevitably take a hard stand following one doctrine and opposing the other, here the characters listen to one another and are willing to concede points where merited. These are well rounded characters, even if they (and I'm sure, you) don't necessarily share the same views. Nora Louise Syran gives us people we wouldn't mind waking up next to on a train. Read it, you'll see.

All life is dynamic, which means things change—they may change slowly, like rocks, but they WILL change eventually, under the right conditions. This quiet Christmas play creates the conditions under which a person might transform before our eyes, if only slightly. The interaction at the center of the play is sometimes tense but always kind, with the backdrop of the desert landscape grounding the story in marvelous metaphor. A transcendent moment of unexpected music ties the narrative together!

This is a play about yearning. Yearning for something bigger than ourselves. For a connection to the world around us and beyond. There are so many fascinating thoughts shared here. It left me feeling enlightened. And a little hopeful. And a little yearning to travel by train.