Buried Child presented by AstonRep Theatre Company at The Edge Theatre

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The ghosts of O’Neill, Williams, and Steinbeck are definitely in the air, but Shepard’s thematic preoccupations are front and center as well—decaying family structures, the inherent instabilities within masculine identity, and the expansive emptiness of the American plains. Director Derek Bertelsen and his cast and crew make a complicated drama riveting."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Buried Child is a haunting disturbing play, perfect during the Fall season. The play takes place in Central Illinois on a farm, that has not been productive for over 30 years. The entire family when you meet them evidently show they are mentally unstable. The patriarch for the family is Dodge, an older man in his 70’s, with a severe history of alcoholism and now suffering end stage diseases from consumption. Dodge is played by the great actor Jim Morley, He has nailed the crotchety old stubborn man, hiding a secret. Jim was so believable in this role, I almost wondered if he had a drinking problem. But I know better, he is just a GOOD actor."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Set within Jeremiah Barr's sparse, fragmented farmhouse, atmospherically lit with gray and gloom by Samantha Barr, and glazed with a sound designed by Becca Venable, this production is a powerful and respectable interpretation of Sam Shepard's view of a rotting American Dream. But it's Derek Bertelsen's deft staging and his guidance of an excellent ensemble cast that make this surreal nightmare so haunting. This is a production that may dwell in our dreams and torment theatergoers long time after the final curtain."

Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended

"...There's nothing more satisfying than a sharply directed and well-acted production of a Sam Shepard play. Shepard's America is middle America at its seamy, seedy worst with family secrets, lies and sometimes even murder. No room for cheery optimism or song and dance here. AstonRep takes on the bleak mood and mounts a Shepard classic, Buried Child, directed by Derek Bertelsen and featuring an excellent cast of seven. The title itself gives away one of the play's secrets, which we don't learn about until the end."