“Football executives, fans, coaches and players at all levels
would be well-advised to see — and ponder — David Robson’s Playing the
Assassin. Mr. Robson’s compelling
dialogue and forceful characters provide so much theatrical energy...takes
a good, solid shot at professional football while telling a gripping story.
Touchdown.”— New York Times
“A brutal gridiron drama…Assassin adds an
important contribution to contemporary theater. Few imagine that sport,
particularly football, teems with tragic moral significance…Robson lights up
the gridiron with theater’s most powerful device: the consequence of human
action that results not from willful choice, but from devastating tragedy.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“A driving two-hander full of feints, snaps and
switchbacks…Robson’s moments of explosion and implosion are riveting.”—Wilmington
News Journal
“One of the most gripping productions of the year.”—The Cultural Critic
“Assassin is a powerful page-turner and a
feast for two good African American actors.”—Tony-nominated playwright Craig
Lucas
“You don't have to know how to block an opponent at the snap
to enjoy Playing the Assassin; the
play shows you how, in elegant slow motion and up-close body-slamming action…A
dynamic, powerful, provocative and intelligent battle of wits.”—Hartford Courant
“Impassioned and topical…a gripping confrontation between two
men. The
play raises a handful of hard, resonant, timely questions.”— Broadway World
“Theater at its very best…Visceral and intelligent.”—CT Theater News and Reviews
“The theme is football,
but the emotions passed around are far more hard-hitting than any action you
might see on a playing field. Gripping
drama about responsibility, manhood, [and]forgiveness.”—Connecticut Arts Connection
“Not often do the words ‘profound’ and ‘football’ find their
way into the same sentence. Yet Playing
the Assassin brings to light profoundly searching questions about
football and the other contact sports so central to much of American
entertainment and big business. Assassin delivers expert and
compelling theater that deserves to be experienced more than once.”—New Haven Review
“The
powerfully compact work…addresses the psychological consequences of violence in
general — for victims and perpetrators alike. Along the way, it reckons with
ideas concerning masculinity, hero worship, race, money, honesty, guilt and
atonement. As befits a play about a contact sport, it’s emotionally
hard-hitting, profanity-laced, and exhilarating.”—Journal News
“A powerful and thought-provoking play about the game of football
and the men who play it. I was blown away…Assassin has only two characters
and the entire play takes place in one room but it has enough raw emotion to
fill Lincoln Financial Field.”—Ray Didinger, Hall of Fame Sportswriter
“Hard-hitting, intense, tenacious as pit bull.”—Stan Hochman, Philadelphia Daily News
“This
explosive new play is about professional football, the reverence and bloodlust
it inspires in its players and its fans, and the fallout when a simple game
goes too far. The speeches are smart, and Robson wisely never takes sides. So
you don't care about football? Don't know Shula from Shinola? You'll love Assassin
anyway.”—Talkin’ Broadway
“Grabs
you by the throat and tosses you around…”—Stage
Magazine
“Everyone
should see this play whether or not you like sports. Your emotions will be
aroused and your values challenged. The compelling script [is] spellbinding.”—Bucks County Herald
“The
play holds the viewer captive as it unravels secret after secret…Assassin is a gripping piece of theatre—wonderfully
crafted.”—Aisle Say
“A
powerful new play by playwright David Robson that examines America’s
fascination with sports violence.”—Daily
Times
