Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"..."Punk Rock" is a closely observed and dark, yet affectionate, play by British playwright Simon Stephens. Stephens is a former teacher himself; his compassionate and unsentimental work has proved so many times to be a fine match for Chicago theaters that he has handed Griffin Theatre the United States premiere of this play. It is about bright but tortured adolescents in a school near the northern England city of Manchester, where this play was first performed in 2009, and where, in full disclosure, I was a kid myself. They try to assert themselves, look cool, pursue each other sexually and come out on top in the crucial, life-or-death standardized exams that pockmark the British educational system."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...In his 2009 drama “Punk Rock” — now in a Griffin production that features a superb ensemble of young actors under the direction of Jonathan Berry (who has proved himself a formidable interpreter of Stephens’ work here) — the playwright, who has worked as a teacher, turns his attention to a poisonous high school environment in Stockport, England. The writer grew up in this old industrial city near Manchester, and he has often made it the backdrop for his plays."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Like punk rock itself, Stephens's kids are equal parts nihilism, revolution, aimless aggression, and noise, so each adolescent milestone, report cards to sex, gets invested with confusion and impossibly high stakes. Jonathan Berry's kinetic Griffin Theatre staging strikes a balance between suspenseful drama and thoughtful case study. His energetic, innocent-eyed cast are mostly up to task, even if they don't always display the apocalyptic capabilities the script demands."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Even more frightening, though, is the central character, William, an initially harmless-seeming presence whose ordinary adolescent disgust with the prevailing order gets mixed up in his disordered mind with delusions of grandeur, resulting in a horrifying outburst of violence. As played by the alternately vulnerable and chilling Joey deBettencourt, William combines in one volatile package both Holden Caulfield and all the confused, gun-toting, angry young men who’ve cited Holden Caulfield as an influence."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"... Punk Rock is a well acted, realistic, and truthful glimpseintothepsychicoftoday’s teens. The British adolescences are the same as Americans as both are under tremendous pressure to succeed in a fast-pacedsociety. Thiswork will shock you and get you thinking. Kudos to the fine cast of young actors for such a moving theatrical experience. Once again, Griffin TheatreCompany deliversa gem."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"... The cast is exceptional. And while I found Phillips' menacing to be slightly over the top at the final preview I attended, Berry has beautifully shaped the seven scenes of the play with realistic character work that kicks in after a sluggish start. But nothing in the scenes compares to the high energy, chair stomping prelude which starts the show, or is as visually interesting as the excellently choreographed scene changes staged to Christian Gero's piercing sound design."
Chicago Theater Beat - Not Recommended
"...A few bright spots exist in this oddly named show (other than the incidental music, I could not figure out how “punk rock” fit into the play. The dated cultural references to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Thom Yorke and David Bowie were all the more confusing: with the exception of one plot element that’s never fully explained anyway, Punk Rock could easily have been set in the 1980’s or 1990’s when punk was more prevalent in the mainstream)."
