The Silence in Harrow House presented by Rough House Theater Co. at Chopin Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...I don't think anyone goes to acting school expecting to one day be the black-clad operator of a severed hand puppet, but there you go. If you are able to look past the dude or pair of dudes piloting the appendage across the room, the atmosphere-labyrinthine partitions, Corey Smith's vicious sound design-will momentarily take over. I only ever got the illusion to last that long, though."

The Fourth Walsh - Recommended

"...This interactive journey is sensory-focused puzzle pieces to put together. It’s a thinking person’s Halloween treat. The timing can be sluggish as I walked around in a circle looking for visual stimulation. Yet in some ways, Harrow House is more terrifying than an ordinary haunted house. Here, the monsters are people."

Picture This Post - Recommended

"...Through puppetry, environmental and sonic design, THE SILENCE IN HARROW HOUSE brings us face to face with cosmic horrors, nightmarish to behold. The lead puppet designer, Grace Needlman, uses mostly body puppets, with the half body of the puppet arising from the waist of the puppeteer, who usually manipulates the head and one arm. This gives us the impression of full-sizes characters who sometimes speak words, but mostly jibberish. If one puppet pulls off the face of another, revealed is not a skull, but a squirming mess. Fascinating are the hand puppets—not worn on the hand but formed from the hand with fingers for locomotion attached to macabre little torsos. These skitter around in the dark, carrying their own illumination, picking at us and each other. Ms. Needlman knows how to create horror, in this writer’s opinion, and the puppeteers know how to execute horror through their intricate manipulations."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...From Frank Lloyd Wright inspired sconces and eerie Morse code rhythms created by the creatures to recordings and books to peruse, you’re unlikely to leave the experience wholly understanding what Harrow’s story is. Perhaps, as time goes on, we’ll learn more of Harrow’s life through Rough House. If that means more work for the skilled puppeteer crew and their designers, bring it on."