"Some very professional people have gone along for the ride with Sulby and they provide the polish that makes 'Sanctuary' occasionally seem better than it is...Instead of awakening our hearts and consciences to what is happening in the world, she puts herself front and center, turning everything else into a backdrop. The kindest thing to be said about this piece is that it needs a complete rethink."
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"While this play is well intentioned, it does not feel like a productive piece of theatrical activism. Sulby’s performance, while graceful and rich, is not enough to make her characters more than stereotypes. However, if you are interested in seeing some truly excellent theatrical projections, 'Sanctuary' will be worth your while."
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"The one-person show format of 'Sanctuary' occasionally feels cliché and outdated, but Sulby makes up for it with her powerful performance. Each character she transforms into has their own unique accent, and she briefly loses herself into each personality, her energy never waning, her emotions never holding back."
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"The production is professionally acted, directed and designed...But 'Sanctuary' doesn’t work well as a play. The language veers from cliché to puffed up and obvious news-speak to the pseudo poetic. Moments of potential don’t pan out to anything memorable. Sulby’s performance makes some of 'Sanctuary' come off as better than it deserves, but there’s no disguising the lack of insight, depth, or focus in the script."
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"Sulby as the playwright is trying to find the words to best highlight humanity’s violence towards one another...She has a commanding presence with a truly gorgeous vocal ability that allows her to play the many characters in the story with ease and believability…I felt that the play was perhaps too heavy on sentiment and required more storyline...At the same time, I feel that she has successfully captured the feeling of extreme paralysis in the face of tragic events."
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"The compelling 70-minute semi-autobiographical solo show considers the impact of war on women...Under Stephen Stahl’s fluid direction, Sulby transforms from one character to another with split-second timing and finesse...Sulby’s momentous show is not totally disheartening; it becomes cathartic and uplifting, as she calls for the personal action of women everywhere."
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“'I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier' plays hauntingly at the beginning of Susanne Sulby’s heartfelt solo theatre piece, 'Sanctuary'...She has created a memorable exploration of what war does to us, and why peace matters. Thank you, Susanne Sulby, for your remarkable solo performance."
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"I sincerely feel rather awful sticking a rating of '2' on this work, because I in no way disagree with any of its points. War is certainly bad, and is often particularly cruel to women; the media cycle hypes conflict over peace, and war only happens because people believe in their personal, wrongheaded causes; love ought to conquer all. But such familiar and oversimple platitudes do not, in themselves, a powerful theatre piece make."
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