←Recommendations of Erstwhile

02.16.26 - An exercise in building tension for both the character of Veronica AND the audience. We are trying to solve the puzzle in some ways more than she is. An audience member feels the need to stay on top of the story, and when we are in the dark as much as Veronica, it ratchets up our uneasiness tenfold. Matthew Weaver has us all right where he wants us. And we are all the better for it.

Suspense is one of human nature's most terrifying emotions. It defies the mind's perpetual quest for knowledge and curiosity. In this short play, Matthew Weaver uses all the elements of suspense -- darkness -- both physical and mental -- elusive riddles, and non-answers to questions. Veronica's torture -- and that is what it is -- is the inability to answer a simple question. And we the audience are left with the suspense as well. But it works so well in this chilling tale.

A dark stage, combined with Matthew Weaver's well-crafted dialogue, immediately places us in Veronica's shoes, as we can't help but empathize with her plight. I'm reminded of Tom Petty's great lyric - "I woke up in between a memory and a dream." A well done, thought-provoking short play.

Matthew Weaver delivers a dark and delicate play about memory -that terrifying and protective filter-. How alone we are and in what microcosm each of us lives, I keep wondering. Thank you, Matthew!

I love the dialogue in this! Such a unique premise, and I wanted so badly for Veronica to solve the mystery. I love how, somehow, neither character feels like a villain. I am rooting for both of them, even as one has clearly hurt the other. A very impressive tightrope to walk!

A dark delight. The audience is in the much the same precarious state of mind as Veronica, and the end of the play, such as it is, weaponizes ambiguity. Very intriguing.