Vincent River presented by Theatre Y at Lacuna Lofts

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Staged in a bright white box with only an endless series of white cups and an empty slide projector as props, Hawkins' blistering production tears out the kitchen-sink roots of Ridley's text to give us a horrifyingly bleak portrait of denial and betrayal. Jones' Anita lashes out at the neighbors "whose names you can't pronounce" who sneered at Vincent's sexuality — but also tells a story of searching for a place to secretly discard the gay pornography she found under his bed after his death."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"... in this second part of Theatre Y's Exiled Trilogy, director Melissa Hawkins puts her cast beyond the reach of logic, in a bright, white, empty box where they're formally attired and follow tightly choreographed steps. Freed from the burden of plausibility, Hawkins's meticulous actors turn Ridley's overwritten, implausible script into 100 minutes of probing, harrowing, hallucinogenic truth."

Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended

"...Director Melissa Hawkins skillfully guides her actors through the often dull and thudding language of Philip Ridley’s script. Her use of stylized movement in some scenes juxtaposed with her commitment to a raw realism in others produces a sort of magic in the air, a sense that anything may happen at any moment. What has happened here is alchemy, as Theatre Y has turned the leaden Vincent River into gold. DO NOT MISS this riveting show."

Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...The production’s real coup is a closing monologue from Davie, which Hawkins choreographs as a mixture of brawling movement and unhinged jazz dance. Smith’s herky-jerky movement is peculiar and astonishing, as is Jones’s rapt, revolted stare. This final moment—from two exceedingly fine actors—could sell tickets all on its own."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended

"...It’s not as if there’s anything new in the material—which makes the telling all the more, well, telling. With homophobic evil it’s only the details of the attack and the reactions of the survivors that differ. So the way it’s shown is what and how we remember, more than the facts of the atrocity. That’s what disappoints about “Vincent River.” If it had been more direct and honest than stilted, stylized and incomprehensible, it could have blown us away. This production only heated up because the air conditioning didn’t work."

Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended

"...Davey accuses Anita of smothering her son while he was alive, saying, “Under your thumb, that’s where you wanted him.” I can’t help but feel that’s what the direction and choreography has done to this play. These are two incredibly bold actors that deserve some more freedom in this space to battle out this emotionally truthful story. When finally Smith leaves the frame of the box and exits into our world, I wanted to watch where he went to get a glimpse of how he moves and speaks with honesty in his natural environment."