"Cassie M. Seinuk’s absorbing 'From the Deep' spends two hours exploring the interplay between Israeli soldier Ilan and young American Andrew...There’s more than a touch of looming, Pinteresque menace, but the tension lags as the play goes on; Seinuk should probably leave more to the imagination. But Lindsay Eagle’s production doesn’t let the mood overwhelm the characters or the actors: Linshaw and especially Marcus reach admirable depths."
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“The themes of how we survive different kinds of violence are explored with a specificity and maturity that impressed me, especially coming from a young playwright. I only wish the rest of the play had lived up to its premise...It does a truly great job of bringing to life the complexities and rules of the imagined world Seinuk has created...I’m hopeful that my reservations about this play are simply due to typical young-writer problems, and I’m eager to see what Seinuk writes next.”
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"An intriguing new work that examines many facets of terror and loss of freedom. Under the steady directorial hand of Lindsay Eagle, two actors reveal multiple layers of themselves as their time of incarceration together lengthens…Both actors are superb in portraying the terror and boredom of indeterminate incarceration…A provocative and well-conceived play."
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"A powerfully disturbing premiere…Seinuk makes her characters' respective fortunes very involving, and director Lindsay Eagle sharply paces their interactions as well as their personal struggles. Charles Linshaw as Ilan and Jeff Marcus as Andrew are remarkably affecting…Seinuk has dedicated her play in memory of her grandfather 'who taught me to always go from strength to strength.' The viscerally probing 'From the Deep' more than lives up to that teaching in a must-see premiere."
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"Seldom has this reviewer seen a play set in a parallel universe, created entirely from the playwright’s imagination, transcend the genre of science fiction or the theater of the absurd. But like the best of Harold Pinter, Seinuk and her cast and crew of this production have created a riveting theatrical experience. The audience not only clutches their seats to find out the final outcome of the two trapped men but also hangs onto their every sentence of dialogue."
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