Juliet presented by Theatre Y at Royal George Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Hawkins is a warm and deeply affecting performer who knows how to inject bits and pieces of black humor — this really is a four-star performance — but despite her efforts, the script isn't particularly interested in cultivating any kind of intimacy with the audience. This is Juliet's world, and you're invited to watch, but you're not invited in."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The piece ends up being life-affirming in the truest sense--as the end result of a clear-eyed, unrelenting journey to the heart of things. Directed by Karin Coonrod, Melissa Hawkins's 70-minute performance is dancerly but also busy. It could use a great deal more stillness. Even so, certain moments of physicality--such as a hand-puppet version of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet--are stunning, and Hawkins has the presence, conviction, and precision to make a very difficult performance vivid."

Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended

"...Still, this production of Juliet is unquestionably better than solid. It is extraordinary. Chicago is profoundly lucky to have such a dark and rare gem in its midst and even luckier to add Theatre Y to the ranks of its bravest and most uniquely intriguing theater companies."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"... Theatre Y artistic director Hawkins, who met Visky in 2001 while working with Budapest’s Studio K, has been performing Juliet for years on tour, and the material seems practically seared into her flesh. Not a word that comes out of her mouth is false or forced, and she brings a feral, untamed physicality to her arguments with God. But her physical choices can veer into the showy; Coonrod should rein in the instances in which Hawkins flings herself against walls or crawls underneath platforms and let us concentrate instead on Visky’s powerful words."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Theatre Y brings the raw beauty of Eastern European style theatre to Chicago.  The Award winning writing of Andras Visky, and outstanding work of Actress Melissa Hawkins and Director Karin Coonrod are a must see for entertainment and enlightenment."

Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended

"...In Hawkins beats the heart of a performer. She tosses herself into the sea of the character, even when the situation is so bleak. Visky, like many of Eastern Bloc writers, waxes existentially, shaping austere subject matter with grace. Juliet asks the audience to slog through a lot, but the final moments give the journey meaning."