Review: 'Directions' by the Warner Theatre

TORRINGTON, CT - Warner Theatre’s 9th Annual International Playwrights Festival (virtual edition) continues with an intense presentation of DIRECTIONS, of one-act play written by New York playwright Penny Jackson. Streaming of the production began on November 20 at 7pm and will be available online through Thursday, December 3, 2020. at 11:59pm on Facebook and YouTube. Don’t miss your chance to witness this brief but hard-hitting drama.

DIRECTIONS proves that the war is never over. It is twenty-five years after The Bosnian war. Sofia is a Bosnian refugee now living in New York City. One day she recognizes the military general who brutalized her family and she summons Hana, a young woman from her homeland, to assassinate him.

The playwright states that DIRECTIONS was inspired by the Bosnian women refugees who were in her ESL class in New York City. Many shared their stories of war and how several of the military wanted for war crimes were still hiding in plain sight. “I was interested in the theme of revenge and can it truly bring redemption? I hoped this play provokes questions,” she says.

(from left) PRISCILLA SQUIERS and KELLY WHITE

The cast is made up of two supremely talented Warner Theatre (and beyond) performers. PRISCILLA SQUIERS plays the Bosnian refugee Sofia now called Marie. Ms. Squires writes in her bio that she is happy to be back on stage at the Warner working with Kelly (her stage daughter in ONCE), Sharon and a wonderful creative team. It was not lost on me that she brought back her magical accent from when she played the role of Emma Goldman in both RAGTIME and ASSASSINS with the Warner Stage Company.

KELLY WHITE takes on the role of the younger character Hana, given the name Sofia. Ms. White was last seen as Marianne in the Warner Stage Company’s production of DISASTER! A 70's Disaster Movie...Musical, as well as the role of Girl in ONCE and previous International Playwrights Festivals.
Renee Purdy’s costumes are the perfect choices for the two characters. The original music for the festival was written by JAMES P. LUURTSEMA Reflections by James P. Luurtsema. © 2020 Videography is by JEFFREY B. SCHLICHTER.

I clicked into the stream without reading anything about this play, so I suspect that I was more surprised than most when the prop gun appeared from a backpack. The performances of two of my favorite actresses were riveting enough, but the action of this well-written piece was just as spellbinding. I literally could not look away during the seventeen minutes. Suffice it to say that director Sharon W. Houk has done it again.

Playwright Penny Jackson is the recipient of many awards for her writing including a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, The Pushcart Prize, and The Gary Garrison prize for best short drama. Her plays have been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, Dublin and Edinburgh. She is also a screenwriter. Pennybrandtjackson.com

Director Sharon Wilcox carefully reads a trigger warning before the performance begins.

The link for DIRECTIONS is published on the Warner Theatre’s Facebook page as well as YouTube and at www.warnertheatre.org on the home page.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's International Playwrights Festival will be a virtual event – each production will be recorded in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre over a period of several weeks and then streamed via YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo every other Friday from November to April.

The mission of the International Playwrights Festival is to recognize the work of emerging and established playwrights and to build a link between the playwrights, the theatre community and our audiences. The festival is a celebration of new works by playwrights from across the country and around the globe. For the ninth year, 150 plays were accepted for consideration from across the United States and as far away as China and New Zealand.

Each production will be available to view online for a period of two weeks before being taken down. There is no fee to watch but donations are always accepted. This virtual festival is made possible with a generous donation from The Marine Family.

This year's winning playwrights are (in no particular order):
FINAL REST by Victoria Z. Daly (CT)
AN INVITATION TO MY CIRCUS by Charlene Donaghy (CT)
ANALOG by George Kelly (NH)
EXTENDED PLAY by Ben Marshall (NJ)
MOTHERHOOD by Lawrence Aronovitch (Ontario, Canada)
RELATIVITY AND ME by Len Cuthburt (Ontario, Canada)
PUT ON A GRUMPY FACE by Reed Halvorson (SC)
PERMANENT INK by Charlene Donaghy (CT)
GOOD MORNING by Anne Lucas (MA)
FOLDED by Bara Swain (NY)
DIRECTIONS by Penny Jackson (NY)
SAUL by Colleen O'Doherty (NE)

The link for DIRECTIONS is published on the Warner Theatre’s Facebook page as well as YouTube and at www.warnertheatre.org on the home page.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the CCC Facebook page.