We Have Always Lived in the Castle at City Lit Theater

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...Sturdy as it is, Paul Edwards's adaptation doesn't always manage the narrative shifts between showing and telling. But as director, Edwards orchestrates a growing sense of sorrow and clammy unease, and the central performances—especially wide-eyed Elise Walter as Merricat and Kingsley Day as addled, waspish Julian—add pungent dashes of Jackson's mordant humor to this grim fairy tale."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...The play’s second act doesn’t move as powerfully as the first. Charles, the outsider predicted by Merricat, arrives. The problem with Charles (an affable Thad Anzur) is that his role feels unclear. Not sinister enough to be a real threat, his interest in the family remains unconvincing. Merricat’s need to turn him out leads to a horrific climax; fans of Jackson’s “The Lottery” will recognize her thematic obsessions: othering and the evils of groupthink. Still, the overlong denouement contains far too much summary to reach a satisfying conclusion."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Edwards’ cast was most effective with Day, Walter and Willis being totally engaging. This quirky glimpse into the macabre world of the Blackwood’s is a tempting treat. We sympathize with their plight despite us knowing that one of the three may be a murderer. That’s a tribute to the writing and the honest acting."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...Shirley Jackson is best known for her sardonic short story “The Lottery,” a casually cruel description of a small town’s toxic tradition of choosing a sacrificial victim to be put to death by stoning. Now in a compelling new adaptation at City Lit Theater, Jackson’s final novel, “We Have Always Lived at the Castle,” also depicts a gossip-ridden, nasty-minded small town, and the price that its richest residents—the snooty Blackwood clan—pay for the hatred heaped upon them."