Book review: "27 Hours" by Tristina Wright

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27 Hours  

I have received an e-ARC of this book from Entangled Teen in exchange for a free and honest review.

I found out about this new young adult, science-fiction novel at BookCon in New York City this year. I was browsing the app to find new authors or new book releases when I saw that this book promised queer characters, so of course I had to get my hands on a copy.

 

Sadly, by the time I got to the line for the "27 Hours" ARC, it was already capped. I was sad, but since I had other things to tend to, I didn’t even think about leaving a business card with the author or the rep. (Too bad too, as those business card were handmade by yours truly and they all are gone now. Just saying.)

 

I kept thinking about this book when I got back home and eventually decided to do something that usually do not do (because I am a chicken) to approach the author’s rep and ask for an ARC of "27 Hours". Not only I got put on the list for the ARC, I also got an opportunity to review some other books published by Entangled Teen. So, a special thank you goes to Melissa Montovani for giving me this opportunity!

 

Now, onto the book.

 

Synopsis

 

Rumor Mora fears two things: hellhounds too strong for him to kill, and failure. Jude Welton has two dreams: for humans to stop killing monsters, and for his strange abilities to vanish.

But in no reality should a boy raised to love monsters fall for a boy raised to kill them.

Nyx Llorca keeps two secrets: the moon speaks to her, and she’s in love with Dahlia, her best friend. Braeden Tennant wants two things: to get out from his mother's shadow, and to unlearn Epsilon's darkest secret.

They’ll both have to commit treason to find the truth.

During one twenty-seven-hour night, if they can’t stop the war between the colonies and the monsters from becoming a war of extinction, the things they wish for will never come true, and the things they fear will be all that’s left.

"27 Hours" is a sweeping, thrilling story featuring a stellar cast of queer teenagers battling to save their homes and possibly every human on Sahara as the clock ticks down to zero.

 

I freaking loved this book.

 

The plot is fast-paced with lots of twists and turns, that keep you on your toes. Granted, it is a young adult novel, so do not expect it to be on par with big names in literary fiction in terms of style or plot twists, but Tristina Wright knows her way around the prose and does it really well. The narrative flows easily. There wasn’t a moment in my reading when I would think: “ah, this is a bit slow”. It was action after action, and at times I needed a moment to process who was running where and who was almost killed this time.

 

Because I swear, all of the characters of "27 Hours" seem to have a death wish.

 

It is a well-constructed world, with enough composition and descriptions to fill you in as you go. I found the idea of mystic creatures, chimera (not gargoyles, thank you very much), living on the moon fascinating. The rules of the world are well defined, and even though at some point I was a bit confused about the hierarchy of HUBs and colonies, I felt quite comfortable while reading about the rest of it.

 

Characters

 

I think the characters of "27 Hours" is the best part of this novel. I have not read a single other young adult (or adult, for that matter) book that would have this much representation. We have characters of colour, various origins, ability, gender identities, and sexuality. There is no discrimination based on any of that either. However, using her characters’ voices, the author touches upon few very critical issues that exist in our world, making them sound as ridiculous and horrific as they truly are.

 

Quote 1

 

"It's... preconception, You hear gargoyle, and you think monster. What if..." Jude floundered for a comparison that was just as horrible and unconscionable. "Okay, what ifwe labeled certian people as monsters based on their skin color or hair color or gender or whatever? No matter what they did or had done or acted like. You'd have an issue with that, right?"

 

Quote 2

 

Humans weren't supposed to die at the hands of other humans, of people trained and sworn to protect them.

 

I loved this book, plain and simple. It gave me a band of incredibly brave teenagers, who are set on defending their home, even though it seems like a suicide mission. Who are willing to against everything they were taught. Who stand together in spite of differences that try to pull them apart.

 

I loved "27 Hours" so much that I doodled George. I am not an artist but it had to be done. Just because.

 

George from "27 Hours"

 

I loved all the characters in the book, I can’t even decide who is my favourite. And I ship all of the ships. Yes.

 

And today, I ordered my own copy of "27 Hours" - because I need to have something to console me as I impatiently wait for book two in this trilogy.

 

I am usually pretty fair with my rating. To be honest, I would give the plot itself only 4 stars. However, the diversity and representation in this book are so good, that it deserves an extra star. I can not wait to find out what happens next in the story.

 

Personal rating: 5 stars

 

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Book review: "The Uncrossing" by Melissa Eastlake

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The Uncrossing  

I received an e-ARC of "The Uncrossing" by Melissa Eastlake from Entangled Teen in exchange for a free and honest review.

 

The moment I saw this book available for request, I immediately hit ‘send’ button. Gay boys, curses, and magic? Hell yeah!

However, when I started reading the book, my excitement dampened.

Let’s start with the plot.

 

Synopsis

 

Luke can uncross almost any curse—they unravel themselves for him like no one else. So working for the Kovrovs, one of the families controlling all the magic in New York, is exciting and dangerous, especially when he encounters the first curse he can't break. And it involves Jeremy, the beloved, sheltered prince of the Kovrov family—the one boy he absolutely shouldn't be falling for.

 

Jeremy's been in love with cocky, talented Luke since they were kids. But from their first kiss, something's missing. Jeremy's family keeps generations of deadly secrets, forcing him to choose between love and loyalty. As Luke fights to break the curse, a magical, citywide war starts crackling, and it's tied to Jeremy.

 

This might be the one curse Luke can't uncross. If true love's kiss fails, what's left for him and Jeremy?

 

Plot

 

The synopsis sounds more coherent and put together than the book itself. I loved the idea of an urban fantasy set in a modern New York City. I loved that it was all about old curses and family secrets. However, I found the execution of this plot as well as world building rather weak. Magic system seems to be connected to spells, blood, and voodoo-like curses, but the limitations of the magic, or how each character does what they do, is never really explained.

 

"The Uncrossing" lacks exposition to the point that I had to go back a page or two to visualize what is happening. It took me some time to get used to the narration. It is not a poorly written book, but it has holes that often left me floundering and second-guessing what I am reading.

 

Luke and Jeremy though. Ah, those two are absolutely adorable. I enjoyed all the characters in the book, although the attempts at creating morally ambiguous and grey characters, like Andrei and Sergei, with this sort of jumpy narration have largely failed, in my opinion. I liked them both, but some aspects just missed the mark for me.

 

Problematic aspects

 

Even though the book is great when it comes to diversity, the choice of cultural background for the characters left me slightly confused. The Kovrovs are Russian, while the Melnyk family is Ukrainian-Creole. I can not speak for the Creole culture, but I can speak for the Eastern European part.

 

The portrayal of a rich and influential Russian mafia family (because let’s be honest, this is what the Kovrov family is) is so stereotypical for western society to the point of being mildly offensive. The Ukrainians are portrayed as hardworking but poor.

 

Besides mentioning a prayer in Russian or some Russian or Ukrainian words, without actually mentioning them in the text, the cultural background of both families is shown only in their given names and the mention of borscht in the first chapter - which, let me be absolutely clear, nobody would ever serve to an important guest as a meal neither in Russia nor in Ukraine, unless we are speaking of a rural Russia in the feudal times.

 

There are reviewers who love to throw around complaints about “cultural appropriation”, but in spite of my feelings on the subject, "The Uncrossing" is hardly damaging. I would have, however, appreciated a more meaningful portrayal of both cultures. Both Russian and Ukrainian folklore have enough depth to provide inspiration for any fantasy setting or magic system.

 

I had problems with the world building and magic system, mild issues with some of the characters, but I adored the romance part in the book, although it is usually the least favourite plotline for me. I also felt that the ending of the book was better thought through than some middle parts. I found myself more engaged in the book after I hit 50-60%.

 

It is a debut novel, so I hope that Melissa would produce more fiction in the future. Hopefully, it would also be about queer boys and magic. It was overall a fun read, even though it took some time to get used to the style. Recommend for the fans of the YA LGBT books, otherwise, you might find it boring.

 

Personal rating: 3.5 stars

 

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Book/play review: "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller

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The Crucible  

This is going to be the review of both the text of "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller and the Old Vic production of 2014, which was shown in Cineplex on July 2, 2017.

Play

 

Everybody has heard of Salem witch trials, one of the most well known cases of mass hysteria in Colonial America between 1692 and 1693, that resulted in trials and executions of over a dozen of people accused of witchcraft and consorting with devil. Arthur Miller wrote his version of the events based on the evidence, adding some fictional elements and changes to the story. He wrote the play as an allegory for the contemporary hysteria and accusations surrounding communism propaganda.

 

That was in 1953.

 

Needless to say, that this play is as relevant as ever today, and "witch hunt" is still used as a popular rhetoric in politics.

 

Old Vic Production

 

I watched the play first and then read the text, but I adored it even more for it. The text is not dense at all, and reads fairly easily, in spite of an old type font in my copy. Arthur Miller breaks the third person narrative by historical references and his own thoughts, which works really well and adds his perspective on the events and characters.

 

I thought it was a relatively new production and was surprised to learn that it was originally staged in 2014 at Old Vic theatre in London, captured by Digital Theatre, then released digitally in 2015. Can’t believe it took Cineplex 2 years to bring it to their viewers in Canada!

 

Old Vic’s production of "The Crucible" was directed by Yaël Farber. It was the second play directed by her that I saw this year. The first one being Yerma, and I could definitely tell that both plays shared the same dark and gruesome feel.

 

Yaël is a multiple award-winning director and playwright. Her production of Mies Julie won a string of international awards at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival, was named one of the Top Ten Productions of 2012 by The New York Times, and Top Five Productions of 2012 by The Guardian.

 

Before “The Crucible”, I had never seen Richard Armitage on stage (unsurprising really, as he turned on stage after 12 years gap), although I, naturally, saw him in The Hobbit trilogy and loved his acting. His performance as John Proctor is absolutely stunning. Delivered by Richard in his deep, gruff voice, Proctor’s words piece you to the core as you see this strong-willed and honest farmer struggle with fanatics and ill-wishers, only to eventually succumb to his own guilt and politics.

 

The stage decorations are minimal; the attention is focused on stage with the audience sitting around it. The stage is dark and the smell of incense is obvious (sadly, not in the cinema broadcast). Yaël once again managed to stun me with her direction and heightened sensory experience. Similar to Yerma, "The Crucible" is not just a visual experience, but a bodily experience as well. Something that you let course through your whole body.

 

The production is very true to the text, almost word to word. If you have an opportunity to watch this recording from Old Vic - please, do! It will make an impression on you, I swear.

 

In this interview to The Guardian, Richard mentioned that he would like to work with Yaël Farber again, which would freaking fantastic. His portrayal of John Proctor will always have a special place in my heart.

 

To be fair, I was not familiar with any other cast member before watching the play, but it would not be fair to praise only Richard for his acting, when Abigail Williams and other girls in the play delivered a no less stunning performance. Abigail was played by an emerging actress, Samantha Colley. She was so defiant, so cunning, and that the same time so naive, that I still can’t decide if I admire her or despise her more.

 

Definitely a must watch!

 

Plot/script: 4 stars

Production: 5 stars

Overall: 4.5 stars

 

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BLOG: Audible Canada Launch - Info & FREE Audiobook

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You know, sometimes you find yourself thinking, “how the heck did I miss this?”. This was exactly my thought today, when I realized that Audible launched a separate Canadian website. I am a Amazon Prime member and I was fooling around on Amazon Canada a couple of days ago (aka binge shopping), when I saw that a new button appeared next to a cart. I clicked it, logged in to Audible with my Amazon login, and completely missed the fact that I was logging into audible.ca and not audible.com as I had been doing for years.  

Half an hour ago, I thought of checking Audible for new releases and then I remembered Audible.ca, and then it hit me.

 

Audible launched a dedicated Canadian marketplace.

A dedicated Canadian marketplace.

 

OMG THIS IS AMAZING!

 

I did a double take. I looked at Audible.ca, saw a letter from the founder and CEO of Audible, and finally believed what I saw. Moreso, turns out I am two weeks late as it was launched in mid-September. (In my defence, I was just coming back from my vacation and was very jetlagged.)

 

After a decade of using American Audible, I can switch to Canadian membership. This sounds like a dream.

 

I have been using Audible.com for over 10 years. No even kidding (see the screenshot). I registered in 2006, back in a day when Audible was an independent company, because I learned that my favourite fantasy series, The Nightrunner by Lynn Flewelling, was available in audiobook format.

 

My Audible US page

 

A lot of things have changed since 2006. I switched from downloading Audible files to my computer and uploading them to my iPod to using a very new and glitching Audible app on iPod Touch then to upgrading to an iPhone, etc. For years I used Audible login separately from Amazon. In fact, I even had (and still do) several Audible logins (another US one registered during a special promo, and two UK ones). I only ever linked Audible with my Amazon account this summer (which resulted in all of my earned statistics & badges being annulled for some reason). And now it seems like there is an option to migrate to Canadian website with my old login.

 

I have not explored this option yet, as I accidentally logged into to Audible.ca with my Audible.com login (which is the same as my Canadian Amazon, which makes it all very confusing). Perhaps, I should be able to see my full library from 2006 on Audible.ca but it is not the case. The article that I read on the new marketplace made it sound very easy, but as it shows I am too old-school for any changes (although the thought of using just one login/password combo for Audible and Amazon and being charged in Canadian dollars is very appealing). I will need some time to explore and adjust.

 

As it stands right now, I somehow have US and Canadian Audible accounts. And I use the same logins/passwords. Perhaps, I would need to get in touch with tech support for that.

 

For years, I have been paying 14.95 USD for my monthly membership. I am looking forward for being charged 14.95 CANADIAN dollars, as the exchange rate is not in our favour.

 

Audible Canada membership for Prime users

 

If you have Amazon Prime, you are eligible for a special promotion at Audible which is giving you 90 days of free trial that includes 1 credit per month. You can purchase any price audiobook for 1 credit. Meaning you are getting 3 audiobooks for free!

 

As an additional incentive to sign up with Audible.ca, you can get a FREE copy of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”. This is a all new version by Audible, which is narrated by the full cast and is unabridged, and includes an afterword from the author and an essay written by author Valerie Martin. This promotion is available for Canadian residents only.

 

FREE on Audible Canada

 

Am I excited about this new change? - Heck yeah!

Am I also confused about how to migrate my account from US to Canadian marketplace? - Same answer.

My confusion aside, I am very excited about this change, even though it comes hot on the heels of Kobo launching their audiobooks service. I am all for supporting Canadian companies and I do have a soft spot for Indigo (the former owning company of Kobo), I still prefer Audible for my audiobooks. It has been over 10 years, folks. This type of commitment is hard to break.

 

Go and register with Audible.ca today!

 

P.S. I am in no way affiliated with Audible. I am just a fan. :)

 

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BLOG: Preview of The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake

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The Uncrossing  

As you know, I love LGBT+ books and I always support indie or emerging authors. I was very lucky to receive an e-ARC of The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake from Entangled Teen. This is a debut, YA fantasy novel that I am currently reading and quite enjoying. The novel is coming out on October 2, and I will have the review on my blog by or on that date. However, today I have an exclusive preview from The Uncrossing! So, thank you so much to Melissa for giving me this opportunity to share it with you.

Synopsis

The Uncrossing is a Rapunzel-esque romance between two boys who have grown up in the magic mafia. Luke can break almost any curse—they unravel for him like no one else. Working for the Kovrovs is exciting and dangerous, especially when he encounters the first curse he can’t break…

Excerpt

Luke always seemed busy and independent for a teenager, very…was glamorous the word? Mature. Intense.   Like the rest of his family, he wore formal clothes, but he carried them nicely. The top button of his white shirt was undone, a V of skin peeking under the knot of his tie.   What Instagram had taught Jeremy about Luke: He liked cats, purple Gatorade, and street art. He liked his parents’ cooking better than restaurants, unless it was okra or beets, and he worked a lot but he enjoyed it. He liked math and science better than English and history, which Jeremy could hardly even imagine.   Also, one of his friends posted weekly Thursday thirst traps of models and celebrities, all across the gender spectrum, but Luke only ever commented on the pictures of guys. Once, the friend had posted a picture of a wan model, all cheekbones and legs, and Luke had replied, “Drag me.”   Jeremy could second-guess the blue of the sky, but the evidence was pretty solid that Luke liked boys.   Jeremy snapped his eyes back to his empty plate, but Alexei’s attention was hot enough to burn his cheeks. This was the treat, or the test: just say something. Luke also liked the kind of flashy action movies no one in Jeremy’s family ever wanted to watch, so all Jeremy had to do was bring up The Fast and the Furious. “It sounds great on the new sound system at home…” Something like that. Something cool.   “We have a little business to discuss.” Alexei nodded to Yuri and Helene. “And there is a task I would like our witch doctor’s help with.”   The Melnyks all straightened in their chairs, their attention sizzling as Jeremy grabbed his messenger bag from the floor and pulled out two burlap witch bags.   Luke winced, and Camille leaned forward. “Oooh.”   “Quite,” Alexei said. “A client found these in their home, luckily before they managed to hurt anybody. I’d like an inventory of the contents and a swift execution.”   Luke nodded. “Yes, sir.”   “Wonderful. Jeremy will stay with you until that’s done—call me if there are any problems.” He turned to Jeremy. “I won’t need long, but take your time. Call me when you’re done, and we’ll come pick you up.”   Sure he would. He’d want a debrief on everything Jeremy had said to Luke, and there would be nothing to tell him. “I’ll take the subway.”   Alexei arched one sly eyebrow but didn’t answer. He followed Helene and Yuri downstairs and left Jeremy alone with the twins.

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Book review: “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti

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“Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti  

I received a copy of the play “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” from Playwrights Canada Press in exchange for a free and honest review.

 

If you have been reading my reviews for awhile, you know that I love reading plays. I love reading notes on scripts. I love reading notes on staging. I love it, even if I don‘t get an opportunity to watch the play on stage, as it is in this case. “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti was commissioned by Sudbury Theatre Centre and premiered there in April 2013.

 

The moment I read the synopsis of this play, I knew immediately that I had to read it.

Synopsis:

 

The Breakfast Club meets Shirley Jackson in a fusion of live theatre and technology that tells a darkly comic but hopeful story of found teenage outsiders struggling with death, depression and the shadow of a black dog.

 

The topic of mental health is prevailing in the play. Not only the play opens with the honestly shocking statistics regarding mental health and suicide rates in Ontario and in the world, but the performance itself consistently keeps reminding the audience of the subject matter.

 

I will allow myself to include the quote from the "notes on the text":

 

“More than ever, there is the tendency in our Wikipedia-obsessed society to self-diagnose and slap easy labels on people. It’s in our language - we say. “He’s a schizophrenic”, when we should say “He is a person with schizophrenia.”

 

It can’t be more true, as we often hear our peers and friends throw around such phrases as “I clean all the time. I am so OCD about it”, or “This is giving me anxiety”, or “I am so depressed about it”. Even though, all of those feelings and emotions might be valid and true for the speaker, the easy way of appropriating such labels is detrimental for the people who truly suffer from mental illnesses or the representation of their stories.

 

The staging notes of “Black Dog” captivated me even before I got to the script itself. The play uses technology and live twitter feed as part of the performance, and the audience is encouraged to use their cellphones - something that is never the case in live theatre.

 

The play kept me on my toes throughout. I read it almost in one go while commuting on a bus (and, yes, I almost did miss my stop in a very typical booknerd way). I remember walking through the quiet streets of Lakeshore Boulevard and thinking that one of those houses could be the home of One and Two. Or, perhaps, Four. That behind those walls there might be someone like one of those teenagers, suffering and alone, unheard.

 

The play is fast-paced with a staccato dialogues and the increasing crescendo of anxiety. You can tell that something bad is about to happen. That the black dog is getting closer and is about to pounce. The ending came, and I was left with the feeling of mounting depression. It was too real and in some ways too close home to brush off as a piece of fiction. I found it hard to step away from the characters and the plot and found my thoughts return to both again and again in the following days.

 

Five: [...] These are the things I keep to myself because they make me different. / And different’s just one more word for alone.

 

Is the plot completely original? No, we have seen it done in many ways many times before. Was it meant to be original? No. (Well, yes, but also no.)

 

As Matthew in the beginning, he tried to create those characters as representatives of a whole spectrum of mental health and illnesses. Numbers instead of names, symptoms of multiple disorders instead of labels. Those kids are like countless nameless victims of a spreading plague - unique and faceless at the same time. This play, like many other stories that touch upon the subject, is meant to make you uncomfortable and aware of those who suffer. I can only applaud the author.

 

Personal rating: 5 stars

 

Buy “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti"

Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld

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Play Review: Yerma - National Theatre Live

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  Yerma National Theatre Live

Please beware of spoilers to the plot of both the play and the NT adaptation.

 

I have never found it this hard to start a blog post about a play. The subject matter of Yerma threw me off completely. But allow me to start from the beginning.

 

I purchased a ticket for the live broadcast of Yerma months ago. As per usual, I was motivated not to miss a single broadcast with the added incentive of seeing Billie Piper on stage. I loved Billie as the 9th Doctor’s companion back in a day and was excited to see her perform.

 

I had not known the plot of Yerma before I picked up the book, although I did know of Frederico Garcia Lorca. I got myself a copy of Four Major Plays by Lorca and was surprised to see that the play was only 50 pages long. I managed to read it in two sittings on the day of the broadcast.

Yerma - The Play

 

Yerma is identified by Lorca as “a tragic poem in three acts and six scenes”. It was written in 1934, right on the brick of Spanish Civil War in 1936 and the author’s demise. The play takes place in a rural Andalusia, where Yerma, a married woman, suffers from the inability to conceive a child. Every woman in her seems to be pregnant, but yet she is still waiting after two years of marriage. Her husband Juan doesn’t seem to be at all concerned about it. His concerns more lie within Yerma’s increasingly erratic behaviour and worry about the spreading rumours that Yerma is unfaithful. Desperate, Yerma goes to a place of pilgrimage but refuses to lie with another man. Finding out that Juan never really wanted children and never will, Yerma kills her husband, killing with him her only hope to have a child.

 

Set in a time and society where the only place for a woman was to sit at home and raise children, Yerma is a tragic story of a woman trapped between her sense of duty and honour (toward her father and husband) and her desire to have a child (for which she requires her husband’s permission). Yerma is judged by other women and men in her environment for not having children yet. Her name itself means ‘barren’ in Spanish, although it is not clear whether it is true or not.

 

I can’t say I liked the subject matter of the play, however, Lorca’s writing is so lyrical and vivid, that I couldn’t help bookmarking a couple of passages.

 

Yerma: “Are you supposed to want a man just for being a man and nothing else?”

 

Yerma: “If I could suddenly turn into an old woman with a mouth like a crumpled flower, I could give you a smile and cheerfully share my life with you. But now, just leave me alone with my pain.”  

 

The play has a lot of songs and lyrical passages woven into the dialogues. Considering that and the length of the play, I was rather curious to see National Theatre production.

 

National Theatre

 

The play ‘Yerma’ was adapted and, essentially, re-written for modern London by Simon Stone. It is an hour and a half long play with no intermission. It was originally produced in 2016 and brought back to Young Vic in 2017.

 

Here is the official synopsis:

 

The incredible Billie Piper (Penny Dreadful, Great Britain) returns in her Evening Standard Best Actress award-winning role.

A young woman is driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child in Simon Stone’s radical production of Lorca’s achingly powerful masterpiece. The unmissable theatre phenomenon sold out at the Young Vic and critics call it ‘an extraordinary theatrical triumph’ (The Times) and ‘stunning, searing, unmissable’ (Mail on Sunday). Billie Piper’s lead performance is described as ‘spellbinding’ (The Evening Standard), ‘astonishing’ (iNews) and ‘devastatingly powerful’ (The Daily Telegraph).

Set in contemporary London, Piper’s portrayal of a woman in her thirties desperate to conceive builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax.

 

The play was split into ‘chapter’, each introduced on a black screen with a title and live music. The blackout allowed a change of scene and decorations. The whole play is conducted in an enclosed space, which looks like a glass box or an aquarium, turning the actors into the subjects of observation. And isn’t it how life is? Both ‘Her’ (Yerma), who has no actual name, and John (Juan) are symbols of any couple struggling to conceive. She is a journalist and a blogger; John is a businessman who is always away.

 

There are a lot of changes in the play. It is hard to call it an adaptation. Rather, Lorca’s Yerma was an inspiration for Stone’s Yerma. Both Yermas are pressured by society, but they struggle and attempt to cope with it in different way. There are a lot of feminist dialogues in the Stone’s play, which are only ever hinted at (if you squint) by Lorca.

 

Similar to a modern version of Hedda Gabler, I couldn’t fully connect with modern Yerma or her obsession to have a child. A modern Yerma didn’t really the same pressure from her family. Rather that pressure came from within. Perhaps, that is why the ending of Stone’s Yerma was different from Lorca’s.

 

Billie was stunning. I loved her on stage and, I admit, if it weren’t for her captivating performance, I would have been bored out of my wits. Neither perceived societal norms or expectations regarding women's reproductive system or what they should or should not do with them are of no interest to me. Personally, I can not relate to the desire to produce an offspring, and so strong to that. But regardless of my own feelings on the matter, the play is well written and adapted for stage. Billie’s performance is riveting and well deserved of all the praise. She received several awards for her performance in Yerma, including the prestigious Best Actress at the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards.

 

If I am to split the ratings between different parts, I would give:

 

Plot: 2 stars

Writing by Frederico Garcia Lorca: 3 stars

 

I will give the play the average of 3 stars.

 

Adaptation by Simon Stone: 4 stars

Performance: 5 stars

 

I will give the production the average of 4 stars.

 

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