Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"..."Octagon" sometimes feels more like an octopus, with many tentacles reaching in multiple directions. But by the end, it proves exhilarating, exhausting and plain exciting. Just like a great poetry slam should be."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...Colon's characters operate on two levels. They all are involved in a poetry slam competition called Octagon that will determine who will move on to the nationals and to a chance at the financially rewarding "university circuit." And as they meet at the club where they perform there is a clear tension between the veterans and the newcomers, as well as between the men and women. In addition, they are involved in tricky personal relationships with each other, with the competition for sex, love and domination often overshadowing their poetry slam success. And public and private issues frequently overlap."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Chicago poet, playwright, and activist Kristiana Rae Colon's fantastical epic, in which a team of unceasingly lyrical spoken-word artists vie for a national slam poetry title as though it were Olympic gold, features several thrilling passages-namely, anytime the slammers perform Colon's intricate, incendiary poems. (A crafty bundling of Miley Cyrus and Malala Yousafzai, recited by the troupe's lone Muslim member, is particularly arresting.) Everything else in the two-and-a-half-hour escapade pales in comparison: its plot borrows excessively from Hollywood underdog films, and its main subplot, about sexually free-spirited Prism's doomed devotion to taboo sex, reinforces the misogynist notion that too much sexual liberation inevitably leads to a woman's downfall."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Under director Tara Branham ( who also directed Good Friday ), the performers are powerful, passionate, playful and sharing. The ensemble physical work alone ( drumming and stomping rhythm ) demands unity and focus, and no performer fails. The individual characterizations exude intensity each in a different way from the others, thereby making every character memorable. In addition, sound ( Jeffrey Levin ), lighting ( Claire Sangster ) and costume ( Mieka van der Ploeg ) contribute greatly to a unique production."
Time Out Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Octagon’s real power lies in—what else? Its poetry. Put simply: This show bleeds. It’s a play that bleeds into poems and it’s a poem that bleeds off the stage. It’s about bleeding hearts and bleeding bodies, politics bleeding into personal life and personal life bleeding into damn near everything. Branham’s direction is masterful, both unleashed and controlled, making sure we feel Colón’s every cut."
Picture This Post
- Highly Recommended
"...The world premiere of Octagon by Kristiana Rae Colon is about the underbelly of the slam poetry scene. The show is played out as if the poets are being filmed for a documentary and we, the audience, get to see all the relationships, friendships, teams, enemies, and stories of the poets. The first act deals with a three person team heading for the championship of slam poetry, The Octagon, looking for a fourth person to fill a recently vacated position."
NewCity Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Colon builds worlds with her work and, like the one we live in, they are incomplete, imperfect, far-reaching and, in many ways, beyond comprehension. If this play is any indication, the jury is out on whether poets, a group that she obviously feels great affection for, can be trusted. But one thing is for sure: the words are true. So even if you can't believe the poet, listen to the poem."
