Weapon Of Mass Impact at A Red Orchid Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Edward Sobel's superb little production emphasizes the human terror in Neveu's intimate scenes -- one of which, toward the end, really has your heart in your mouth. "Weapon" surely isn't the play that will explain and endear Neveu to a whole new crowd. But for those of us who've deeply admired his writing from the start, it's a very powerful reminder of why."

Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended

"...Unfortunately the play --directed by Edward Sobel for A Red Orchid Theatre -- fails to sustain that tension, which drops off considerably once we recognize what's happening in Neveu's self-consciously cryptic drama, which boasts his trademark spot-on dialogue and requisite twist."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The explosive, emotionally violent finale is made even more harrowing by the expertly orchestrated restraint of the earlier scenes. But it's still clear that Sylvia's greatest trauma, like that of the other women, is entirely personal."

Chicago Free Press - Recommended

"...Director Edward Sobel, a longtime Neveu collaborator, guides his small cast through their grueling paces in the tight Red Orchid venue. One especially smart bit of staging involves the men taking video footage of the women in “hostage” mode, with their faces blown up on the wall behind them. Unsurprisingly, “Weapon” leaves you mulling what exactly Neveu is trying to impart—and then leads you to wonder about the terrorism in our everyday lives, quite aside from abductions, video cameras and masked men. Which is probably exactly as the playwright intended."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Neveu has been criticized in the past for not writing larger. That is, his relatively short works tend not to have the panoramic scope of standard-bearing classics. While this complaint is cockamamie, another one of Neveu’s habits—“natural” conversation about minutiae that dilutes his characters more than it reveals—has held back works like 4 Murders and even his successfully creepy Harmless. But with Weapon the dialogue is rounder and pointed, and if it’s occasionally generic, it serves a dynamic purpose: When on autopilot, Neveu’s women show us the blandness of a falsely secure American life."

ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended

"...Chicago playwright Brett Neveu’s world premiere, Weapons of Mass Impact, is a confounding and troublesome work. It is so underwritten that it begs multiple interpretations. Neveu’s trade mark ‘space between the lines’ or unspoken communications is at work here."