sweat critical quotes - 12.02.25

'Sweat exposes how easily racial and class solidarities are...

'Sweat exposes how easily racial and class solidarities are fractured by economic downturns, creating fertile ground for resentment and scapegoating' - Hornby

'The tragedy of Sweat lies in its disillusionment with the...

'The tragedy of Sweat lies in its disillusionment with the American Dream, where hard work no longer guarantees security, and hope becomes a liability' - Brantley

fundamentally about...

fundamentally about alienation - not just of labour, but of community' - Feingold

less about individual choice and more about the...

less about individual choice and more about the inevitable pressures of capitalism that destroys the binds of community and solidarity' - Canning

encourages empathy for all...

encourages empathy for all sides in the conflict, even those whose actions we might find reprehensible' - Mahon

'incisive, uncondescending, and...

'incisive, uncondescending, and quietly compassionate' - Soloski

'with empathy and without judgement, the...

'with empathy and without judgement, the nationwide anxiety that helped put Donald Trump in the White House ' - Brantley

'a modern...

'a modern tragedy' - Scott-Bottom

[characters are] grippingly...

[characters are] grippingly human.' - Gerard

'all agenda,...

'all agenda, no mystery' - Green

'a thesis on the...

'a thesis on the decline of the working class in the twenty-first century' - Lukowski

'their fates and...

'their fates and Nottage's analysis are bleak' - Lukowski

'searing directness to the...

'searing directness to the language of the play, a frankness and authenticity' - Williams

how similar they all are, beneath...

how similar they all are, beneath the surface of

their skin color. ' - Januk

'straightforward elegy for...

'straightforward elegy for well-paid, unionized factory jobs in America'

exxagerate a pre-existing...

exxagerate a pre-existing assymetry of power between large corporations and workers

Nottage challenges

certain cultural...

Nottage challenges

certain cultural narratives that have emerged around the issue of US deindustrialisation. - Kirton

visually demonstrates this...

visually demonstrates this positioning of women's voices as central - Kirton

[Cynthia and Chris] understand the intimate...

[Cynthia and Chris] understand the intimate effects of global capital in a way that white characters do not - Burell

challenges a cultural narrative that positions...

challenges a cultural narrative that positions white

men as exclusively responsible for the labour and economic prosperity - kirton

' a moral, passionate, and richly...

' a moral, passionate, and richly articulated cri de coeur'