Decky Does a Bronco

See it if you'd like grown actors playing 9-12 yr olds who run, swing, argue. Gr opening song...downhill fr there. Tedious. Deus ex machina tragedy.

Don't see it if you want plot/depth. Narrator's conclusns superficial (memories fade, pain lessens). "Kids"/swings annoyed me. Male cast, dir, writer,prodr.

See it if A story about growing up and lifes decisions. Fantastic acting and directing. This is a breath of fresh air for a play. Great writing.

Don't see it if Scottish accents are thick and difficult at times to pick up. Ending can be rough for some theater goers.

See it if Lively physicality of roughhousing boys around a swing set. Great natural acting & dialog. I fell in love w/these kids. Powerful message.

Don't see it if Dark ending followed by an appeal to the audience for sympathy. Strong accents.

See it if Entire cast gets into the age of the roles.Lighting very effective. Use of slow motion dead-on. A cappella (take them on tour) No weak links

Don't see it if The theater needs air conditioning. Not the most comfortable seats. It takes time to "get" the Scottish accents Many steps to the theater

See it if you’d enjoy awakening memories of childhood with on-target direction of believable characters, some accapella, meaningful lighting- see it!

Don't see it if you will be disappointed to miss every word due to accents and acoustics or you do not like the sadness that comes with decisions in life.

Also Don’t miss the wonderful chalk art scenes on the three walls that place the wonderful set.... Read more Read less

See it if Memory play about 9 year old boys in rural Scotland in 1983 and the incident that changed their lives forever. Well acted, lit & staged.

Don't see it if Heavy Scottish accents & poor acoustics sometimes make dialogue hard to understand. Horrific incident (not shown) involving child abuse.

Also Admirable effort; plot builds slowly toward climax; actors very athletic & convincing.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see an amazing cast give an awesome performance about friendship and coming of age and how one incident can change it all.

Don't see it if You don't want to see a really great performance and You want to miss out something very special. You don't like coming of age performances.

Also I was so impressed with the production. This is not a musical but there are a few songs performed and I absolutely loved it. These guys have amazing voices. I never knew what a "bronco" was. I used to go to the park and when I saw the swings wrapped around the top of the poles I never knew it was possibly a result of a "bronco". I enjoyed this performance so much. There was a part of the play that made me sad, {no spoiler alert}, if you go see this play you will know what I am talking about. If you can, please go and see this play. Very talented cast. Very well written. Loved the set. Loved how they came on and off the stage. I loved the narrator. I was thoroughly entertained.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a show with excellent writing an acting

Don't see it if youthful ignorance and arrogance leading to tragedy is triggering for you

Also An elegantly composed and staged show with amazing acting.

Still wishing that Broadway producers would start looking at these Off-Off Broadway shows without amplification and recognize that that is the way to go to establish intimacy with an audience.... Read more Read less

See it if Elicits the innocent yet troublesome ways that boys play with each other. Toxic masculinity starts young with potentially risky effects.

Don't see it if Childhood trauma is triggering. The lead up to "what happened" went long, maybe trying too hard to pull heartstrings.

Also Diversity: 1 mixed person (Asian and White?) of a 5 person cast.
Ticket from Show Score for $5.... Read more Read less

See it if If rather thick Scottish accents aren't a barrier for you, the energy of the young cast will win you over.

Don't see it if If you have no patience for stylized, somewhat abstract motion oriented story telling, you might want to pass on this one.

See it if You are interested in Scottish plays about Kids who play on swings & what happens teasing takes place. Excellent cast, staging, agility👍🏼

Don't see it if If you have trouble with accents. I had no trouble understanding language. Not into dark theme

Also 90 minutes. No intermission or elevator. Need to walk up 2 flights, steep... Read more Read less

See it if This import from Scotland was worth the wait! Bravo Bravo Bravo! Outstanding in all rating categories. Go see this real gem!

Don't see it if Very little if anything to criticize.

See it if you enjoy an absorbing slice-of-life without much of a plot. The guys are attractive and convincing

Don't see it if you don't like adult actors playing children and prefer that the main (only) plot point was so obvious.

See it if you enjoy memory plays and want to see a show in which a young adult relives key moments from his youth.

Don't see it if you don't want to see adults playing pre-teens and/or you prefer plays that are more consistent. There is a major tone shift in this play.

See it if you are looking for a surprisingly entertaining look at how the effects of childhood trauma can last into adulthood.

Don't see it if you insist on understanding every word. The Scottish accents are impeccable -- but thick.

See it if you enjoy coming of age stories

Don't see it if you want a finished show. Fun enough production - undeveloped play.

See it if Interesting play involving actors portraying themselves as young children from memory. The actors were all very physical.

Don't see it if Portraying their youth both the good and the bad times. Difficult subject matter might upset some theatregoers.

See it if into a good production of a faulty play about Scottish boys and swings

Don't see it if impatient

Also highlights include a lovely dance around the swings and the actors' admirable commitment to the Scottish accent.

The play spends most of its time on the ultimately-inconsequential dynamics between the boys, allowing the actors to be in the moment and the audience to ponder what is the point of this. Towards the end, a tragedy is introduced but the play has little to say about it. The meaty subjects here, bullying, perversion, and grieving get little stage time; they seem like a late attempt to bring gravitas or a shock to an aimless nostalgic look at kids and swings. Mark this as underdeveloped.... Read more Read less

See it if A defining moment in the lives of childhood friends reminds us of the gift life is and what we do to live our lives. A special loving play

Don't see it if It is thought provoking and moving and it invites us to look inward and out at life. It is set in Scotland so there are accents.

Also It surprised me at how masterfully the story is told and how the picture stays in your mind and touches your heart. See this play.... Read more Read less

See it if You like small shows that touch an adolescence and the adolescence dealing with tragedy.

Don't see it if You're looking for something lite.

Also Wonderful cast and direction. I would have preferred a script that was a little less narration heavy, but understood why that was the chosen style.... Read more Read less

See it if You like small, intimate shows about childhood and growing up.

Don't see it if You want entertainment only, and do not want a story that centers around violence against children.

Also All design elements and staging are wonderful. Actors are great. the script can get a bit repetitive, but the actors and creative team do a top notch job to elevate it.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy British works, modern topics, coming-of-age tales, social issues

Don't see it if you're sensitive to childhood trauma and/or mature topics

Also A fun but also sombre play that revisits a harrowing event from David's childhood.
It starts off in rollicking good fun, setting the scene of the dynamic between the young boys, and then takes a darker turn at its height.
A very impressive set and lighting for a small place and the actors bring the story to life extremely well.... Read more Read less

See it if Very well-acted, funny-sad story of a group of 9-year-old, Scottish boys in the summer of 1983 & the incident that changes their lives.

Don't see it if Scottish accents would be problematic or violence towards children is triggering.

Also The five, adult, male actors did an amazing and incredibly believable job of capturing the energy, camaraderie, emotionality and conflicts of a tight knit group of young, Scottish boys in the 1980s. I thought this play would be good because of things I had read about it before I saw it, but I still wasn’t prepared for how powerful and moving it was. My only caveat is that the Scottish accents and somewhat challenging acoustics of the venue sometimes make the characters both hard to understand and hard to hear.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy great, provocative and out of the box new works in intimate spaces

Don't see it if you don't like foreign accents

See it if you’d like to experience a sharply written, staged & performed engagement of an almost unbearable subject, violence against a young child.

Don't see it if engaging the subject of violence perpetrated against a child might be too hard for you to sit through.

Also “Decky Does a Bronco” is not a perfect script. Having a character narrate is almost always awkward. It’s not a perfect production. A noisy (unneeded) air conditioner vied with the actors for sonic supremacy & made the Scottish accents even harder for an American audience. But this is a focused, disciplined, moving script about an almost unbearable subject: violence against a child. Staging is consistently strong. A set of swings on a quadrant of turf achieves the spare beauty of sculpture, is fully kinetic &, deeply implicated in the plot, finally achieves the power of symbol. The script resists easy sentimentality by delivering a detailed depiction of the boys’ life, the confusion of disaster & the almost shell-shocked aftermath. I won’t soon forget the description of a grieving father. Several short movement segments – the boys at play on & around the swings – rise to the level of rough choreography. And the cast of 5 adult males playing pre-adolescent boys could hardly be better.... Read more Read less