Recommended by Claudia Haas

A thriller that had me at the edge of my seat. Even just reading this, I had a strong visual. A visual of predator-prey where the roles changed and changed again. The momentum builds and the thrills keep coming. A stunning and powerful one-act.

A gorgeous meditation on the absolute wonder of being alive. Light changes. Nature changes. Are we paying attention? Syran is and she’s asking us to pay attention, too.

Nutty and cockamamie and daffy, I have too much fun reading Norkin’s plays. And the young in the audience and onstage will agree. Give me a big bowl of ramen and Norkin, and I will live happily ever after - with birds (no worms) and and flowers,

Words said and unsaid. Words meant and twisted. Words bringing sisters together and words creating tears to keep them apart. But then there are the memories that keep them together. In a world where crabs dry out, corn needs to be shucked, and ponies need protection, Syran creates a delicate balance of the ties that bind and the words that bend.

In a world of Mother’s Days, Wang paints a portrait of a mother-daughter relationship that will never be. As the daughter focuses on getting tiny tidbits of affection from her mother, the tidbits are not coming. Wang manages humor and light in a dark place where a mother’s love will forever be withheld. A tough and touching piece of theatre.

Friedman captures all the beauties and heartbreak in a life succinctly and sweetly in a scant ten minutes. Nobody escapes from an unspeakable sorrow in this life but Friedman finds light in the hardest challenge. There are times when you really need the park bench surrounded by whistling ducks and if you’re lucky, Agnes is by your side.

Anastasia Wild takes you for a wild ride into the contemporary dating scene. Quick, witty, and battle weary, three women show their survival tricks mixed with their honest hopes for romance. Wild ends this roller-coaster ride that will both engage and then make you wonder.

As a devout sucker for the Golden Age of Hollywood and World War Two, this play grabbed me and would not let go. I want more! A beautifully woven character study who meet at the right time, Erb gives us a starlet and a hero who are wonderfully human and humane. The play has a heartbeat, musicality, and a tale for all times. You never know where an encounter will lead. It makes you think.

Norkin has proved what I always suspected: Steve Jobs travelled through time and listened in on conversations between Bell and Watson to invent the i-phone. It’s a hilarious, farcical romp through the process of invention. Opportunities abound for physical humor, creative props, and a chance for two actors to shine. Audiences will lap it up if they can stop looking at their phones.

A Shop in the Darkness is part fairy tale, part fable and part cautionary tale. Floyd-Priskorn deftly gives us a story ripe for these times. She understands what scares us, what haunts us and what in the end will inspire us. And she does it all with welcome humor, original characters, and a taste of the darkness which also bring light.