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David Hansen

Recommended by David Hansen

  • La Sirena by Eteya Trinidad
    12 Apr. 2021
    “ Trinidad’s play revolves around the close friendship of Thelxi and Chim, and the diner where they work. The place is lorded over by two white men, the owner, Tanner, and the busboy/waiter Wyatt. It is also about art, and sexual assault, about workplace harrassment, and the uses of a sincere apology. It holds a powerful lesson and one I highly recommend. ”
  • I Wanna Fuck like Romeo and Juliet by Andrew Rincon
    10 Apr. 2021
    “ Come on, girls -- do you believe in love? Because Andrew Rincón has got something to say about it, and it goes something like this. A poet (the stage directions) tells a story of love between two (or three) shepherded by a god of love and a Catholic saint.

    It’s a story of the ending of relationships, and also the beginnings, from Heaven to Hackensack. And even if Kanye and Kim have broken up since this script was written (sorry, Valentine) it remains a touching, hopeful and hilarious examination of love and why it matters. Highly recommended! ”
  • At The Barre by SMJ .
    9 Apr. 2021
    “ A love story about loving someone else and loving yourself and loving your body whatever shape it takes. Catherine is a ballet dancer and Shawn is a mime, each pursued by inner voices (made manifest by other actors) who wrestle with their personal and professional drives and desires.

    If the stage directions and suggested choreography are appropriately followed this would be a hilariously absurd feast of physicality, describing the hardwood jungle of New York dancers and the desperate fantasticness of New York bar (and barre) life. And there are songs! Highly recommended. ”
  • What's Wrong With You by Jan Rosenberg
    7 Apr. 2021
    “ I love smart play scripts about modern teenagers so much. I love them even more when they feature drop dead, whip-smart dialogue while also communicating deeply felt character and emotion.

    Rosenberg’s story of a Gen Z cohort who engage in outrageous dares, faking injuries for social media, is thrilling, moving, and very, very real. There is an almost complete absence of adults, highlighting the extent to which these kids have been made to be self-reliant, but also the chilling degree to which they are on their own to manage their many emotional challenges. Highly recommended! ”
  • All Our Yesterdays by Chloé Hung
    6 Apr. 2021
    “ Written in the aftermath of the kidnapping of over 275 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, Hung creates a scenario of the missing, coping with abduction and rape. Moving from the present (six months after the kidnapping, in late 2014) to moments in the recent past, two sisters engage in rivalry based on the one’s attendance at a school, the other left at home. They are each sharp, desirous individuals, wanting advancement, education, a bigger future. It is tragic and aching to see and understand how great each could be, were it not for the violent evil of men. Highly recommended. ”
  • Black Metamorphosis by Sam Kebede
    5 Apr. 2021
    “ The written introduction to this play (a note on casting, not actually part of the play script) is by itself a monologue that is worthy of performance.

    Kebede’s outrageous satire on white power and global dominance is hilarious from beginning to end, first describing the Illuminati’s millennia-long mission to destroy the black race, which evolves into a take on Kafka’s Metamorphosis in which a poor which man wakes up one morning to discover he is a black stereotype, with everything ugly you can metaphorically derive from that. It is a stinging riot. ”
  • Clara Thomas Bailey by Caridad Svich
    4 Apr. 2021
    “ A magical monologue in three parts (it’s not really a monologue, but it’s like a monologue) told in second person singular, like a conversation in the mind. A tale of urban anxiety and loss, fearing pain, death and isolation, and the human aspiration for success, for contact, for calm and clarity, for creation, full of beauty and wonder and doubt. It's lovely and I highly recommend a read! ”
  • UNCLE REMUS, HIS LIFE AND TIMES, As Told to Aaron Coleman by Aaron Coleman
    3 Apr. 2021
    “ The playwright himself travels back in time to meet the real Uncle Remus -- of course, there was no “real” Uncle Remus, but through a wild and wily adventure the Aaron Coleman of the play discovers the truths concealed in the fiction, and an even more important truth about himself, in the end literally (in the literary sense) reclaiming the narrative for future generations. It is marvelous with humor and also candor, fantastic and biting and witty, a timely tale of appropriation and cultural ownership. Check this out! ”
  • Monica: This Play Is Not About Monica Lewinsky by Dianne Nora
    2 Apr. 2021
    “ In this fictional version of Monica Lewinsky becomes an everywoman. Some suffer their abusers in private, others on full display, and the real Lewinsky is one of the most public examples of that. But this play is not about her specifically, but every woman’s journey toward feeling whole, to having a heart (as is described so poetically in the denouement) that can heal itself. Nora’s narrative jumps back and forth in time with a dry wit, passion, and alacrity, and I highly recommend a read. ”
  • Well-Intentioned White People by Imani Vaughn-Jones
    1 Apr. 2021
    “ Vaughn-Jones's play is a map of microaggressions, as the protagonist Nia navigates social interaction with her white husband’s parents, members of her otherwise all-white writer’s group, and finally her own husband’s inability to stand up against racist comments when he feels doing so would compromise his career. The tension builds and once she breaks and expresses her feelings is forced to cope with white defensiveness and their (our) inability to take responsibility for their (our) actions. It's an intense, well-plotted and highly relevant work and presents a strong argument. I would love to see this performed! ”

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