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Conor McShane

Recommended by Conor McShane

  • Untitled Babysitting Play by Emma Horwitz
    20 Jun. 2022
    “ This play is a head-trip in the best possible way, the kind of thing that pulls you along wondering where it's going, toying with your expectations at every turn. Sly, frequently funny, sometimes a bit scary, blurring the lines between real and imagined, layers of artifice piled on top of each other. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it, and I love that about it. ”
  • Midnight Showing by Libby Heily
    19 Jun. 2022
    “ Diana is such a great, well-rounded, and inspiring character, unceasingly dedicated to her own weirdo vision and not caring one bit whether other people like it or not. Despite the play being mostly in a "telling" mode, it's engaging and highly theatrical. A bold, funny, bittersweet look at following one's muse wherever it leads, and trying to carve out a life around it. ”
  • Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon by Deborah Yarchun
    16 Jun. 2022
    “ I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this sense that, the more connected and integrated we make our lives, the more vulnerable we are. This play taps into some very relatable fears around the accelerated pace of technological progress, while at the same time diving into even more relatable fears of being replaced, of disconnecting from each other, of being alone in an increasingly changing world. It's tense, it's funny, it's deeply human, and has one of the most chilling final moments I've read in quite some time. ”
  • MODERATION by Kevin Kautzman
    24 May. 2022
    “ A while ago I remember watching a video about Facebook content moderators and the psychological toll their job takes on them, and I thought that seemed like a special kind of hell. MODERATION illuminates the corners of that hell in skin crawling, precisely calibrated detail. Kautzman presents a world that feels not that far removed from our own, illustrating the dehumanizing effects of technology and its corrosion of the soul. It's a horrible job that, so far, only a human could do. ”
  • A Voice From the Prussian Sea by Aly Kantor
    26 Apr. 2022
    “ A beautiful, tender short play that gets at some big ideas over its short runtime: identity, legacy, survival, who gets to tell our stories, and just how easily the truth can be erased. Zelde's choice to hold onto who she is, at great personal risk, is inspiring and moving. Lovely stuff! ”
  • Bereavement Leave by Daniel Prillaman
    31 Mar. 2022
    “ A masterfully creepy, darkly funny piece that manages to both satirize the world of soulless corporate entities and serve as an effective look at the existential terror that our entire lives could just boil down to some numbers on a screen somewhere. Prillaman creates such a fascinating world that seems to exist just slanted off of our own, giving us just enough information to keep us engaged, not revealing the full truth until the very end. Great stuff! ”
  • Dance Into Night by Ken Love
    24 Mar. 2022
    “ A steamy, swampy, atmospheric story that touches on parental legacy, a child's obligations, toxic masculinity, and our fear of inheriting the worst traits of our parents, that feels like a Southern Gothic ghost story and a neo-noir all rolled into one. I really appreciated the play's fluidity and the way memories, dreams, and visions bleed into one another. Very cool stuff! ”
  • Road Movies and Why We Hate Them by Maximillian Gill
    17 Mar. 2022
    “ Sometimes you want to read something that's funny and clever and moves along with a brisk energy, and if it happens to also be sharp and effective satire, all the better. Road Movies and Why We Hate Them succeeds on both fronts, as a very funny comedy populated with memorable characters and a reminder that dictators (both real and aspiring) aren't the only ones who can manipulate public perception through the media. It's a story that sadly just keeps being timely. ”
  • A Reasonable Expectation of Privacy by Suzanne Bronson
    7 Mar. 2022
    “ A disturbing exploration of the lie of upward mobility our society tells us, that very American notion of being able to change your destiny in an instant with one good idea, which is almost always a fantasy, with one of the most shockingly grim endings I've read in a while. ”
  • The Tasters by Meghan Brown
    21 Feb. 2022
    “ A chilling, darkly funny tale that crackles with righteous energy. I'm fascinated by the ways in which the world of the play is colored in but still left open enough for us to fill in the blanks. I'm bummed I missed a chance to see it in Chicago! ”

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