BOOKS:
The Second Edition of IRINA’S EYE is now available in Paperback click: Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or as an eBook click: Kindle.
Irina’s Eye has received more than 70 reviews averaging 4 stars. Read 48 of those reviews Here.
For further reviews see Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Germany, Amazon USA
“Irina’s Eye is an exciting page turner…”
“…a search for who we really are…our true essence…”
“…a thought provoking MUST READ.”
Purchase Irina’s Eye in Paperback through Amazon.
PLAYS:
A DEATH IN BROOKLYN: To purchase the play as an E-book Click here.
A MINUTE OF SILENCE: To purchase the play as an E-book Click here.
A Minute Of Silence achieved Finalist status in the 2001 New Century Writers Awards and Semi-Finalist status in the 1998 Julie Harris Playwright Award Competition administered by the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild.
What the critics said about the London Premier:
“…enchanting A Minute of Silence…” The Stage
“..a play that challenges perceptions of deafness.” Hampstead & Highgate
“…a surrealist drama which can be enjoyed on several levels. It is a touching love story, a piece of physical theatre, and a play that re-evaluates deafness and proclaims the right to choose one’s way of life, however unconventional.” Jewish Chronicle
“…remarkably eloquent..” Time Out
“…a magical, multi-layered piece…” The Stage
“…spectacular visual impact…” Camden New Journal
“With this funny and challenging piece, Freedman certainly achieves his prime intention – to turn the common perception of disability upon its head.” Disability Times
“…a night that was not only entertaining but also saw theatrical technique pushed several notches on.” The Stage
“The current rage over genetic engineering and the probable impact on both the deaf and disability communities made the play even more topical.” Disability Arts in London – DAIL
“Writer/director Harris Freedman’s imaginative production sews speaking and signing players into the same costume by linking everything with a gleefully manic comedia dell’arte touch. . .” Hampstead & Highgate
“At each twist and turn we are presented with yet another issue – mercilessly the writer ensures that none of us escapes his questioning.” Disability Times
“…a poignant comedy…”Jewish Chronicle
ELLA’S SECRET: To purchase the play as an E-Book Click here
What the critics said about the Rome and London productions:
“A Warning Against Indifference” Andrea Pocosgnich, teatroecritica.net, Rome
“Where history and story-telling meet, dense narratives arise. Especially when the chapter of history is the Nazi era and when the narratives are the interconnected stories of two women, a German Helga, and a Jewess Ella. It is the perfect occasion for a close confrontation between two diverse points of view about the darkest moment in contemporary European conscience.” Manuela Sammarco, teatroteatro.it, Rome
“…the guilt of those who have always known…Those who weren’t among the soldiers rounding up the Jews and didn’t make the laws…stood by and watched when a Jew was beaten and dragged away and then entered his house and carried off his possessions…Can forgiveness be contemplated for the perpetrators….?” Andrea Pocosgnich, teatroecritica.net, Rome
“…the encounter/clash of two strong women…Their parallel lives, families, children and a man who…keeps them apart and also close together, …”Elisa Suplina, Lungatevere.it, Rome
“…’Ella’s Secret’ has a profound emotional component…a rivalry that is part of the female universe…intense and satisfying, with the finale of a thriller…” Mauro Corso, Rome
“Freedman’s production does not seek answers, in fact it cultivates doubts…it is able to penetrate the viewer’s intimate conscience, that is, if the viewer does not wish to remain deaf and indifferent.”Andrea Pocosgnich,teatroecritica.net, Rome
What distinguishes Ella’s Secret…is the blurred line it creates between guilt and innocence and how the re-telling of even catastrophic periods of history can be skewed to fit the storyteller’s version of events…unusually for a staged play, the story centres around two older women…An uneasy and abrasive interaction between the two women soon develops into a conversation that tells us how both ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ have made questionable moral decisions…What Ella’s Secret does effectively is to question morality when applied to real, messy, complex life stories…do Ella’s experiences justify the decision she has taken and the secret she still keeps. by Maureen Mckarkiel for remotegoat, London
MOSCOW SHADOWS: You can purchase this play as an E-book, here.
What the Critics said about the London Premier of Moscow Shadows:
“…two gutsy Jewish widows…fine performances…” Time Out, London.
“…moves stylishly from politics, to drawing-room drama, to whoops-no-sex-I’m-a-Red farce, to whodunnit…police interrogation, remorse…self-sacrifice…” City Limits, London.
| “…As the dust clears, discernible behind the powdery rubble of the Berlin Wall is the infinitely bleaker edifice of East European anti-semitism, invisible, all-pervasive, and atavistic in its strength. Harris Freedman addresses this in his new play, Moscow Shadows, but he does so by means of a drawing-room comedy that makes profoundly uneasy viewing…” Independent |
“The play’s observations could not be more politically apposite…” Independent
“…goes for (and gets) the laugh to be found in a fond portrayal of Jewish matriarchy.”Independent
“…persuasive performances…” Independent
“The author has written splendidly meaty parts…fine and funny performances…a play rich with humour as well as pathos…” What’s On In London
“…Moscow Shadows is a rich mix, combining the loss of innocence, the all-pervading atmosphere of insecurity…the thrills and skills of black-marketeering, and a detective story.” Jewish Chronicle, London.
“…The ‘visa speech,’…is surely going to be a classic.” Jewish Chronicle, London.
“It is unusual to have a new play of such topicality arrive on the London Stage so immediately after the events it is recording.” What’s On In London
“…multi-faceted drama, highlighting inherent fascism in Russia…” City Limits, London.
“…bang up to date…effective comedy…a play to provoke heartfelt debate…” Ham & High, Hampstead, London
SELLING OFF:To purchase the play as an E-book: Click here
SOMETHING IN COMMON: To purchase the play as an eBook, Click here
What the critics wrote about the London production:
“. . . what starts out as a quirky highly charged sexual drama evolved into a disturbing and urgent thriller.”
“Charlie uses sexual charms as an angler uses bait to attract the men she needs for her mission and she skilfully teases and plays them in until they are hooked and landed.”
Charlie’s “…seduction techniques are reminiscent of Sharon Stone’s famous leg crossing and uncrossing in the film Basic Instinct.”
Something in Common “. . . will keep you guessing . . . the final moments of truth in which Charlie pours out her harrowing story are enough to make your blood run cold.”
TCHAIKOVSKY, in English, can be purchased as an eBook. Click here.
What the critics wrote about the Rome productions:
“Harris W Freedman’s pen has met Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky and has drawn a sketch of his soul. Not a small undertaking to distill the life of the Russian composer in a 90 minute play, from age 24 training at the conservatory until his death at only 53 years of age, in circumstances still debated…A life on a tightrope, in constant precarious equilibrium, in his intimate sphere, in his need for material things, for money, in addition to his esthetic pursuits.” teatro.persinsala.it
“…there is truly a great deal of information transmitted, without any loss of lyrical moments of unquestionable value.” teatro.persinsala.it
“Tchaikovsky…by Harris W. Freedman: the atmosphere breathes the profound love for art and culture, and love for the music of the great Russian composer, whose life story is told through masterful flashbacks and indirect narrative.” Alessandra Greco, teatritaliano.it
“The expert use of lights, a piano, a violin, and the music of the master played live in the background: in this atmosphere…The human dramma begins, Tchaikovsky turns to the past, to his time at the conservatory, to his homosexuality, an offense at that time, to his marriage of convenience, his friendships, his pain.” Alessandra Greco, teatritaliano.it
“As if through a magnifying glass we see the emotions, the delicate contemporary theme of homosexuality: the story is not meant to be an homage to Tchaikovsky, but rather an effort, masterfully done, to examine his essence. Profound and delicate.” Alessandra Greco, teatritaliano.it
THE FAMILY JEWELS can be purchased as an E-book: Click here
WHISPER OF WINGS has been published as an eBook, CLICK HERE.