Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Dawkins is a gifted and empathetic writer and the piece has some real strengths, not the least of which is how it reminds its target audience that teachers are, in fact, imperfect adults with actual challenges of their own (in this case, Hellman's drama teacher is a recovering alcoholic). And in one moving scene, the student Mercedes, who comes from a religious family that denies her access to computers, is asked if she knows what people are saying about her online. "I feel it," she says, with the fine actress Gonzalez expressing an underacknowledged truth: When you're being savaged online, there is no balm to be had by refusing to log in and read. You feel it. This is true, even if you are an adult."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...It's fascinating how The Burn forces real life and screen time to overlap: The video-enhanced cross-talk is regularly interrupted when a character "has left the conversation." No easy expose of the horrors of harassment, The Burn (its title referring to a cyber attack even the Russians would envy) more than meets a young audience half way. Ms. de Mayo inspires instantly familiar, totally tensile performances from her skilled quintet. Audiences - both ripe and mature - will be galvanized by Dawkins' shocks of recognition because, scalding and stinging, The Burn is an equal-opportunity injury."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...In this interesting play, we saw the effects of how the person who is being bullied becomes the one inadvertently the bully and the one who would take the unjust fall for their actions to protect themselves. Dawkins gives us an insight into the severity of being bullied in a private sector where when it's done when no one could see what was taking place versus shaming someone on an online platform."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Audiences familiar with Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" will marvel at how seamlessly playwright Philip Dawkins has both updated that script and paid homage to the classic. This is a powerful story of how lies can sometimes turn into the truth and how bullying, especially through social media, affects so many young people these days. This is an important play, brilliantly acted and produced, that will move audiences of all ages, inspire conversation and won't soon be forgotten."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Dawkins, a prolific Chicago playwright, has skillfully woven together Miller's warnings from the mid-20th century with internet fears and hype today. The Burn is a remix of The Crucible, he says. Hallie Gordon, artistic director of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, asked Dawkins to write the play two years ago, based on an experience he had with a student in one of his classes."
The Hawk Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...There are elements in this play that really ring true--Baker's performance as Tara and Ganet's Andi offer glimpses into the complexities of two young women grappling with who they really are and who they portray at school. And the relationship between the cyber and real world, made possible by fast-paced direction (Devon de Mayo) and engaging sound, lighting, and projection designs (Sarah Ramos, Heather Sparling, and Rasean Davonte Johnson), wonderfully empathizes the huge role that technology plays in these girls' lives. Unfortunately the play's positive influences were overall weighed down by its troubling message."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...The performers give gritty, realistic portrayals of high school students replete with vulgarity, self-righteousness and self-justification. Scenes alternate between real time and flashy, noisy e-communication. A cacophony of sound and visual stimuli serves to unsettle the audience into the contemporary milieu. The result is a satisfyingly disturbing climax and resolution."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...It's safe to assume that Dawkins and all involved in this production mean well. When "The Burn" turns its energies toward engaging with all of its characters with respect, it becomes both more interesting and more compassionate. But it pads the envelope up front and misses opportunities for positive reinforcement. Dawkins crams a lot into his play but what gets left out is noteworthy. Ultimately, "The Burn" is a play about young people, but not necessarily for them."
