Recommended by David Beardsley

Death Defying is a worthy entry in the Applause collection of The Best New Ten-Minute Plays for 2019. This heart-warming play takes some thought-provoking turns as it explores identity and the degree to which other people and “what we do” defines us. I love plays that make me think and make a point without hammering away at the main idea. Kaplan’s writing is subtle and displays deep empathy.

I had a chance to listen to the Podcast of this moving and powerful play. It would be easy for a story about such dramatic violence to become overwrought or lapse into melodrama. EGS avoids this, and her play reveals the resilience of people who deal with an extreme, unacceptable situation by coming together with courage and love. After listening, I found myself reflecting on the communities that define my life.

This is a poignant play, with a fun, inventive premise, about the intangible elements that form the foundation of a loving relationship and keep it strong. It would be a lot of fun to see it staged.

I would love to see this play staged multiple times, by different directors, each bringing a different visions, because that's what Winter People supports. It is massive in scope, cinematic really, but Neill has also made it something that can be executed so simply and so cleanly. It demonstrates the true power of theatre. Neill presents the (smoky, sandy) essence of a story and trusts that our imaginations will fill in around that essence.

This is one of those perfect ten minute plays, a tiny package that packs a real comedic and dramatic wallop. The dialogue is authentic and moves the story forward effectively. The characters are fully formed, with distinct voices. And the spectacle of this highway-side birth is such a wonderful pathway the deeper wants and needs of both characters. This must be a fun play for actors to perform, and I suspect it would have audiences laughing until they cry.

Jealousy leads to murder and then insanity, except it all happens in reverse order in this strange and disturbing tale told backwards. When the play opens, one character is dead, the other is unhinged, and we have no idea why. As each scene moves us closer to the beginning we start to piece together details, and our knowledge of where it’s all leading makes it all the more horrifying. This is a dark and delicious play.

I saw a reading of this play at Fresh Ink Theatre's Inkspot Festival in Boston. It's terrific, a funny, thought-provoking and, at times, unsettling play that uses science fiction to make a compelling comment on colonialism, American hubris, and the danger of cultures that demonize the "other."

You can guess where this play is headed early on, but the little details in the stage action chart a course to that ending that make it so much fun! The constantly expanding coffee mug, putting the shorts on to cross past the window only to immediately take them off again, eating ice cream from a tub... we learn a lot about these characters' lives and personalities without them speaking so much as a word. And it's funny! But it's also touching, and sometimes it's heartbreaking. Life, in ten minutes, without a word of dialogue. Bravo.

“We both know we have an ally.” That’s what Leverett says to Peter at the end of this tight little one-act. I’m not sure I believe Leverett for one minute. There’s an under-current of manipulation throughout this play, which, for me, demonstrates John Minigan’s mastery of character and dialogue, and his comfort writing stories that embrace ambiguity. What fun actors must have performing this play!

I really enjoyed this clever and funny play. It is such a creative premise, and it’s so well executed. A perfect comedic addition to any festival of short plays.