←Recommendations of Swiped (full-length)

A gorgeous play about second chances, misconceptions, trauma, and healing. Starting with the genius title that holds several meanings in the play, author Samara Siskind expertly crafts enormously compelling characters that we root for all the way even as they act against their own best interests. I truly loved this play! It deserves so many productions.

This play was a real delight! Well developed characters and smart, well-written dialogue made this play sing. Highly recommended!!!

This is a deeply layered, character-driven work with so much to recommend it. From the first scene, the tension and pacing is terrific as characters grow deeper and plot reveals unfold - always logical and filled with emotional honestly. I thought the structure was perfect and applaud the playwright for avoiding easy or simplistic answers to a myriad of complex questions on race, gender, addiction, and loss.

I had the pleasure of seeing Swiped at Florida Rep’s PlayLab. I’m so impressed by Samara’s ability to approach a subject like implicit bias in a play with so much heart and humor. It’s a gentle and enjoyable ride, so much so that you don’t even realize your assumptions are being gradually dismantled. Samara deftly crafts characters who are complex and memorable. I know audiences will love this show as much as I did. I can’t wait to see this play widely produced.

SWIPED begins with a scene of multiple tensions: a young Black man, Jeremiah, chats up a young woman, Sarah, in the food court of a mall. As the playwright deftly juggles ideas of perceptions and prejudices, there are also hints of attraction, desire, humor and threat. It turns out he’s a loss prevention security officer and, earlier, he witnessed her swiping merchandise at a store. A surprising, tender relationship forms, prompting Sarah to face past trauma. Smart, charming, hopeful.