Robert Cushman, National Post: A riveting slice of life. Flawless tonal and emotional accuracy.

Steve Fisher, A.V. Club Toronto: Tantalizing mirror glimpses of ourselves.

Adam Collier, Mooney On Theatre: A terrific production that I’d strongly recommend.

Tapeworthy: A fascinating look at the connections we try to form with other people, and our self destructive nature.

Ben Lewis, Tatiana Maslany, and Indrit Kasapi

The year began with a reading of Picked at the Goodman. A few months later came the world-premiere production of the play at the Vineyard. I then premiered two short plays in London, one as part of the Bush Theatre’s Sixty-Six Books and the other as part of Headlong’s Decade. In the midst of all this, I gave an interview about my experience of 9/11, and I wrote short pieces about American Idiot, Spiderman, the differences between US and UK theatre audiences, and the delicate task of post-show playwright feedback. Finally, the year ended as happily as it began, with a reading at the Goodman of my new play Teddy Ferrara, seen in rehearsal in the photo below.

Goodman Theatre, November 2011

Robert Cushman, National Post: In 80 minutes’ playing time, the play brings its relationships fully to life, including the one between two people who, for obvious reasons, can never meet. It also summons a whole world, both material and intellectual, beyond the room, the political playing itself out through the personal.

Naomi Skwarna, Toronto Standard: A sly exploration of identity politics and the hounding force of memory. The dialogue is deceptively casual; it’s light-sounding, but loaded with meaning from beat-to-beat.

Lynn Slotkin, The Slotkin Letter: Playwright Christopher Shinn digs deep into the hearts and minds of siblings, certainly twins, relationships and the secrets even people who are close, hide from each other.

Jon Kaplan and Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine: Christopher Shinn’s script, sometimes intense and sometimes comic, explores the desires of each character, the need both to love and be loved. A successful look at the stop-and-start nature of human affection and the difficulty of reclaiming those once close.

My short plays from Decade and Sixty-Six Books have been published; the links will take you to Amazon.

Lizzie Loveridge, Curtain Up: Christopher Shinn’s Falling Away responds to 2 Thessalonians and has Anna and Tom discussing their attraction to each other and married woman Anna’s choice in not putting her own happiness ahead of the needs of others. She is married to someone who is ill, a depressive, unemployed and mean. It is a powerful piece about love and sacrifice. 

Carole Woddis, The Arts Desk: Highlights included Christopher Shinn’s Falling Away (Thessalonians 2)… In an age given to instant self-gratification, Shinn gives us a wonderfully subtle example of a biblical teaching that carries recognisable contemporary moral force.

Syrus Lowe and Shaun Dingwall

Michael Coveney, WhatsOnStage: Meditative and subdued.

Quentin Letts, Daily Mail: Moving without being mawkish.

Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard: A bold experiment in engaging with history.

Mark Shenton, The Stage: Urgent, bold.

Amy Lennox

I recently gave an interview to the New York Times about my experience of 9/11 and its impact on my work.

My new play Teddy Ferrara will have a free public reading at the Goodman Theatre on November 14th. Tickets can be reserved here.

I blogged about my adaptation of 2 Thessalonians for the Bush Theatre’s 66 Books project here. For more information about the production, click here.

I’ve written a short piece for Rupert Goold’s Decade, which will be presented by Headlong Theatre in London in September. To book tickets, click here.