David Robson
Playwright
"Robson is remarkable on many levels:
he is a talented playwright and a rigorous thinker.
His work is provocative, smart, and well-crafted."
--Deborah Brevoort, award-winning playwright
Blues in My Soul: The Legend and Legacy of Lonnie Johnson
"When a play dramatizes a true story, especially about a long-dead public figure, often the resolution can be learned from the subject’s Wikipedia entry. The challenge to the dramatist then becomes to build enough tension and suspense to make the audience wonder whether a historical event will happen — and if so, how. That is what playwright David Robson accomplishes so successfully in Blues in My Soul…There is a scene in which Lonnie and Chris both play guitar. Before launching into a song, they try to get their instruments in tune with each other. It is a beautiful segment because it encapsulates the spirit of Blues in My Soul. Before they can collaborate to make music happen, they must — literally and metaphorically — find a way to get in tune with each other. The result is a riveting piece of theater."— Town Topics
"Blues in My Soul is for those who have an interest in blues history, for those who are moved by inspired music played with respect for its creators, and for those who are looking for a rousing good time in the theater. It’s a moving play, especially when the driving beat of the blues pervades the [theater], sweeping the audience into its embrace.”-- Out in Jersey
"Characters verbally spar, but they end up making beautiful music together...and the music soars...This play is definitely a winner!"--Mike Logothetis, DE Arts Info
"It is a history lesson and a night of blues at a crawdaddy shack at the crossroads and the coming together of two souls who, in the end, have been quietly waiting for the other to appear."--Richard Gaw, Playwright
"This was an amazing play, not at all what I was expecting. I assumed this would be a blues play, but it was more about the power of difficult conversations, the weight of history and the pervasiveness of great art. Killer script by David Robson."--Joe del Tufo, Artist
Without Consent
"David Robson always writes with the sharpest of nibs. In Without Consent he provides two actors with rapiers to joust with in an incredibly pertinent and powerful piece of theatre. Dealing with a raft of issues in common currency David's dexterity with words provides every reader/viewer/listener with a catalogue of thoughts to take away and consider. A masterful piece of theatre and a real challenge for theatre makers."--Paul Smith, Critic
"I've read most of David's plays, and produced two, and I think Without Consent represents some of his best writing. Two strong characters locked in a room with high stakes is always a winner for me, and Without Consent does not disappoint. Timely, incisive and easy to produce, with great roles for two powerhouse actresses."--Seth Rozin, Producing Artistic Director, InterAct Theatre Company
"David Robson's Without Consent is a powerful drama for two wonderful females that leaves you feeling breathless. What starts out as what appears to be an innocent job interview turns into a shocking climax that no one sees coming. Audiences gasped during our reading of the play."--Bud Martin, Executive Director, Delaware Theatre Company
After Birth of a Nation
"City Theater’s After Birth of a Nation supplies all the common ingredients of farce...It’s very funny and very telling."--DCMetro Theater Arts
"A zany comedy! Amusing and well-conceived physical comedy, a show-stopper. City-Theater has taken yet another risk. But with great risks come greater rewards."--Broadway World
"Seems – almost eerily – as if it was created specifically for the current political and social climate. Unlike some popular farces (“Lend Me a Tenor” comes to mind), it bucks racial stereotypes rather than using racist imagery for laughs – Clarence is the only black character, but he’s also the only one who is not a buffoon or a goofball."--News Journal
"A quasi-historical farce loaded with sight gags, cross-dressing, snappy dialog and larger-than-life characters. The plot amusingly weaves from policy talk to social issues to religion to the arts...The wacky first act sets up a screwball second...After Birth of a Nation is a funny look at what might have happened in 1915, but many of the jokes and comical references are topical. Robson has crafted his historical farce for today’s audiences."--Delaware Arts Info
"It’s an excellent play and it deserves a live audience."--Michael Gray, Former Artistic Director, City Theater Company
Playing the Assassin
“Assassin is a powerful page-turner and a feast for two good African American actors.”—Tony-nominated playwright Craig Lucas
“Football executives, fans, coaches and players at all levels would be well-advised to see — and ponder — David Robson’s Playing the Assassin…compelling dialogue and forceful characters provide so much theatrical energy...takes a good, solid shot at professional football while telling a gripping story. Touchdown.”— New York Times
“A brutal gridiron drama…a thrilling production…will appeal to theatergoers who never watch football as much as die-hard fans who can now glimpse their game treated with understanding and depth.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“A driving two-hander full of feints, snaps and switchbacks…Robson, like a mystery writer, slowly peels away each man's veneer and defenses.”—News Journal
“One of the most gripping productions of the year.”—The Cultural Critic
“Impassioned and topical…a gripping confrontation between two men. The play raises a handful of hard, resonant, timely questions.”— Broadway World
“You don't have to know how to block an opponent at the snap to enjoy Playing the Assassin; the play shows you how, in elegant slow motion and up-close body-slamming action…Dynamic, powerful, provocative and intelligent battle of wits.”—Hartford Courant
“Theater at its very best…Visceral, intelligent, and superbly acted.”—CT Theater News and Reviews
“Not often do the words profound' and 'football' find their way into the same sentence. Yet David Robson’s Playing the Assassin brings to light profoundly searching questions about football and the other contact sports so central to much of American entertainment and big business."—New Haven Review
“Assassin is a powerful and thought-provoking play about the game of football and the men who play it. I was blown away…Assassin has only two characters and the entire play takes place in one room but it has enough raw emotion to fill Lincoln Financial Field.”—Ray Didinger, Hall of Fame Sportswriter
Playing Leni
“Playing Leni encourages the audience to discover not only some of the inner workings of a Third Reich mind, but also our own.”--Broad Street Review
“Tightly written, sometimes tense, and generally commanding work… It sure is good theater.”
--Philadelphia Inquirer
“Packed with emotion, this story is vividly told.”--Stage Reviews
"Playing Leni is spellbinding…[Riefenstahl] never joined the Nazi party and claimed she was forced to make those films. Playing Leni mines this ambiguity superbly. A brisk 70 minutes, it’s an entertaining comedy.”--Stage Magazine
“Truly original as Leni is forced to come to terms with her part in the war, and the fine line of distinction “between art and reality”. Darkly funny… ”--uwishunu
“Clever, well-written, and thought-provoking…it humorously raises serious questions about personal ethics, opportunism, self-preservation, and the accident of birth.”--Artblog
A Few Small Repairs
“A Few Small Repairs creates, in tiny increments, both admiration and pathos for Little Alice, this peculiar, hairless, middle-aged daughter who, with her `low threshold for guilt' finds her life has vanished in devotion to her demented mother. A charming and moving play. It lingers vividly in the mind because it created characters of subtlety and humanness, each of whom was a real individual. " -- Philadelphia Inquirer
"A Few Small Repairs packs a wallop. Robson has a keen eye and ear for life's caprices, and for pain sometimes disguised as humor...the audience is left to ponder fortune and the fall from grace, and to reflect on what `neglect' really means." -- Central Record
"An engaging play about the constrictive bonds of family. The roles of Big and Little Alice are handled deftly, and are heartbreaking in their co-dependence. It is an intriguing work." -- Trinity Repertory Company
