THE WHOLEHEARTED

“A BOLDLY ARRESTING NEW SOLO SHOW…ELEVATED BY THE SKILLFUL USE OF VIDEO AND ESPECIALLY SULI HOLUM’S TRANSFIXING PORTRAYAL OF THE PRIZEFIGHTER, ALTERNATELY BROODING AND EXPLOSIVE.”

– The Boston Globe

“THE TRUE PLEASURE OF “THE WHOLEHEARTED” IS OF AN OLD-FASHIONED SORT: HOLUM’S FEARLESS, FIERCE, VULNERABLE PERFORMANCE.”

– LA Times

“AN INCREDIBLE SHOW” “THE MOST INTENSIVE AND HONEST CHARACTER PRESENTATION I HAVE SEEN IN A LONG TIME”

– Broadway World

“THERE’S A CERTAIN NARRATIVE ARC THAT OFTEN ACCOMPANIES STORIES ABOUT FEMALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. BUT THERE’S NOTHING TYPICAL ABOUT THE STORYTELLING IN THE WHOLEHEARTED.”

– WGBH

“CO-DIRECTORS DEBORAH STEIN AND SULI HOLUM [ARE] EMERGING EXPERTS IN MARRYING THE ‘NOW’ OF TECHNOLOGY WITH THE TRANSCENDENCE OF LIVE THEATRE ”

– CBS Radio Los Angeles

“CREATORS HOLUM AND STEIN SHOW US THAT ASSAULT VICTIMS COME IN ALL SHAPES, SIZES AND DEFINITIONS OF FEMININITY…CROSBY IS A WOMAN TRAINED TO FIGHT IN A RING BUT INCAPABLE OF DISABLING HER ATTACKER OUTSIDE OF IT. CROSBY RAMBLES TO THE CAMERA AND STALKS THE STAGE LIKE CAGED TIGER. THE ATTACK HAS LEFT HER UNHINGED. BY IMMERSING HERSELF IN THIS COMPLICATED CHARACTER, HOLUM BLURS THE LINES BETWEEN WARRIOR AND A VICTIM.”

– NE Theatre Geek

CHIMERA

“MESMERIZING”

-Evening Standard (4 Stars)

“AMBITIOUS AND JAM-PACKED…JAW-DROPPING VISUAL EFFECTS…STEIN AND HOLUM HAVE GENERALL CHOSEN DEEP THOUGHT OVER EMOTIONAL CATHARSIS AND YOU CAN’T REALLY HOLD THAT AGAINST THEM, NOT WHEN ALL THE IDEAS AT THE CENTRE OF THIS SHOW ARE SO UNBELIEVABLY FASCINATING…IT’S AS EXCITING AS EVER TO SEE THAT THE GATE REMAINS A THEATRE RESOLUTELY UNAFRAID OF IDEAS.”

-Exeunt Magazine

“DAZZLING!”

-The Times of London (4 Stars)

“Deborah Stein and Suli Holum’s cerebral freakout is plenty compelling…CHIMERA has many different stories nestled in its austere frame. And they’re all good.”

– The New York Times (Critic’s Pick)

“OUTRAGEOUSLY GOOD… SIMULTANEOUSLY REVELS IN AND KNOWINGLY DISSECTS THE NATURE OF THEATER WITHOUT FORGETTING ITS PRIMARY MISSION: TO ENTERTAIN. SHOWS THAT ARE EQUAL PARTS FUNNY AND SMART ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY. HERE’S HOPING FOR A LONGER LIFE FOR JENNIFER AND HER TWIN.”

-Backstage (Critic’s Pick)

“A SHOW WITH VERY GOOD DNA…IT OFFERS AUDIENCES THE SATISFACTION OF SEEING PLOT, STRUCTURE, AND PERFORMANCE TWINE TOGETHER—A TRIPLE HELIX AS BEAUTIFUL AS ANYTHING.”

– The Village Voice

“THIS PLAY GOT INSIDE OF ME, I FELT CONSCIOUS OF AND CURIOUS ABOUT MY CELLS. I WENT BEYOND GETTING THE STORY THE CHARACTER WAS TELLING TO FEELING THE UNSETTLING QUESTION OF WHO YOU ARE ON THE GENETIC LEVEL.”

– Minnesota Playlist (Best of 2010-2011)

“CHIMERA ONLY NEEDS A MINUTE TO MAKE YOU QUESTION YOUR GRASP ON REALITY… BY REFUSING TO STAY LITERAL, HOLUM AND STEIN INVITE US TO CONSIDER LARGE QUESTIONS.”

– TDF Stages

PROFILES

Profile in the Guardian for CHIMERA in London!

Interview for Get West London

“They really do finish each other’s sentences, and they really do hand roles back and forth just as though thousands of years haven’t gone into solidifying the boundaries between actor, director and playwright.”

– American Theatre

“IN THEIR PLAY ABOUT A BOXER, DUO THINKS OUTSIDE THE RING.”

-The Boston Globe

“WE’RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING SOMETHING, WE’RE NOT ACTUALLY WRITING SOMETHING; IT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PLAY AS LITERATURE AND A PLAY AS PERFORMANCE.”

– MNartists.org