Chloë Whitehorn
Review Quotes
The Fall After Midsummer
"a modern sequel bound to enchant Shakespeare aficionados, sweeping them into 45 minutes of lucid dreaming... refreshingly different...unique... layered narrative." --Skylar Soroka (Kingston Whig Standard)
"The Fall After Midsummer, a terrifically tense two-hander written and directed by Chloë Whitehorn. With a savvy blend of flowery language and punchy comedic sensibilities, this present-day sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream knocks toxic tropes off their dusty pedestals, conjuring a spellbinding, Shakespearean whodunnit full of twists and turns... Whitehorn’s critique of toxic relationships — more specifically, the way that readers and audiences are trained to see toxic love as true love — is made all the more lucid by entangling it in a tale of romantic fantasy. Dressed in the dreamy trappings of its genre, The Fall After Midsummer manages to capture both the guilty pleasure of reading a bodice-ripper and the satisfaction of listening to a smart, funny friend give that same bodice-ripper a brutal feminist takedown." --Haley Sarfeld (Intermission Magazine)
Blood River
"Chloe Whitehorn’s masterpiece Blood River... the script is intelligent from start to finish, with comedic relief sprinkled in at all the right moments." --Cassidy McMackon (Queen's Journal)
"provocative and passionate... Whitehorn’s original new work is deep, rich, smart and involved...the language and words are striking and impactful, and the lines undeniably land best when the dialogue is clear and crisp and delivered with punch." --Will Britton (Kingston Whig Standard)
"Blood River is a riveting play written by Kingston-based playwright Chloë Whitehorn...Whitehorn was able to craft the play in a way so the story comes first but is always centred around the central theme of choice and what that means. She also did it in a way which takes both perspectives in a fair and well-conceived manner... I am delighted I was able to experience this well-thought-out play...It touches on and challenges so-called “taboo” topics in a fantastic way and helped me look at these issues in a new light which I loved...Blood River is a beautifully executed play." -- Stefan D'Ippolito (Kingston Theatre Alliance)
Divine Wrecks
"Chloë Whitehorn’s script transcribes brilliance in its ability to foreshadow heartbreak’s nadir, using subtle gestures and subtext that only become more apparent as the narrative progresses, to come full circle at the end and trigger hindsight... Divine Wrecks treats one of the greatest taboos with utmost respect." --Milica Marković (Theatre Reader)
"Divine Wrecks is a heartbreaking and powerful tale of forbidden love – erotic, wickedly funny and engaging." --Cathy McKim (Life With More Cowbell)
"One of the Top Ten shows of 2015" --Toronto Theatre List
The Pigeon
"Chloe has invented a color darker than black... and I want to wear it!"--John Stuart Campbell
"a new, exciting and daring play for mature audiences. With beautiful relationships between contrasting characters, and a plot for revenge – this play will take you on a rollercoaster ride from start to finish... Not for the faint of heart."--Deanne Kearney (Mooney on Theatre)
"Chloë Whitehorn’s darkly funny, chilling The Pigeon... razor-sharp report... and mercurial wit" --Cate McKim (Life With More Cowbell)
Mourning After the Night Before
"Original, insightful, and moving." --Rachel Fagan (Mooney on Theatre)
"Chloë Whitehorn. Gah! Her writing is so damn good... I love how she uses language and how she paints the struggles we have to communicate... (T)he play unfolds beautifully with surprises and secrets revealed that I want people who see it to discover it on their own terms. I'd love to see it again now knowing how it ends to follow the bread crumbs...The play has a lyrical quality to it, much like bobbing on a tranquil lake while everything happens underneath where you can't see. The image is referred to frequently but it never feels like you're beaten over the head with it. Well done, Chloë!" --MK Piatkowski (One Big Umbrella)
"Chloë Whitehorn’s haunting, lyrical Mourning After the Night Before combines everyday, intimate moments with poetry, and word play and introspection; woven with images and perspectives of water, the characters float around, dive into and drown in their lives as they grasp and gasp for connection, identity and meaning. The water almost becomes a sixth character here... Beautifully and sensitively written and performed, it's haunting, darkly funny and mysterious" -- Cate McKim (Life With More Cowbell)
"Chloe writes plays that are smart and complex (she doesn't dumb it down for audiences, because she *believes* in her audience's intelligence). She likes a sexy play. Ones that make you feel shy and gooey and giggly and oH Ma gAwDddddd. Her latest play, debuting at Toronto Fringe, is called Mourning After the Night Before. It is artsy (in all the good ways), tragic, thought-provoking and twisty."--Bunmi Adeoye
"An affecting piece" --Mimo Le Singe (Geeks Media)
Love, Virtually
"Engaging... Surprisingly insightful... Fringe Favorite" --Torontoist
"Chloë Whitehorn’s script is choc full of pithy observations and topical humour about online dating. Some of the funniest moments come when actors line up on stage as real-life versions of dating site archetypes; the nerd, the outdoor enthusiast, the jock and the suave cultural sophisticate.While the show has the light, airy feel of a rom-com, it’s also surprisingly layered. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of depth and character development as well as the way the show explores deeper themes like coming to terms with loss in a really insightful way.” --Wayne Leung (Mooney on Theatre)
“Playwright Chloe Whitehorn successfully landed a good smack on the face of Facebook and poked sharp wit-licked arrows into the belly of social media.... While humour overrides the performance, there is profound sadness in the gentle scenes with Noah after the coffee shop closes that elicit big heart pangs for the love that was meant to be. Whitehorn carefully extracts the vulnerabilities of all the characters, and expertly showcases the fondue effect love has on us.” --Jules Torti (Alphbet Soup)
"Sometimes, a play comes along that I find so entirely enjoyable that I simply have to tell everyone I know about it. I walk away from the climax with an overwhelming desire to write, to emulate what I've just seen, to put to words the sheer delight that resulted from the experience. Such a play is Chloe Whitehorn's Love, Virtually. I can best summarize my opinion of this work in the words I near-shouted outside the theatre: "Hot-DAMN was that good!" Here is a production that features a fantastic script, the perfect cast, and heartfelt direction." --Tim Ford review
"Great combo of funny and poignant." --Cathy McKim (A Life with More Cowbell)
Clarissa on her Deathbed
"The title drew me in, and Whitehorn’s masterful writing kept me reading. Whitehorn successfully creates a world in which Clarissa's make-believe, her choice of escapism, masks reality from the audience until Clarissa herself is forced to come to terms with her situation. This makes that reveal even more gritty and painful, and allows us as audience members to view that moment through a youthful lens. Whitehorn manages to make the audience feel like small figures in a big world, a world that feels an awful lot like it did when we were young. Excellent play!" --Gracie Evertt, NPX
How to Not Die Horribly in a Fire
"How to Not Die Horribly in a Fire is a funny and somewhat gruesome examination of love and commitment. The writing exposes Claire's nervous energy and inner thoughts, giving the audience the unique opportunity to hear her uncensored feelings and reflections." --Rachel Green, Monologue Bank
The Frank Diary of Anne
"Her musings on love and loss are quietly amusing and along with her flights of tangential reasoning provide the high points of the show" --Dean Hall, The Beat Magazine
"Powerful, well-acted and equally well-written (with an astonishing number of funny lines for a play on shockwaves from a suicide). Chloe Ariane Whitehorn really catches Anne's teenage voice and viewpoint. We alternate between Anne live and Anne's confessional YouTube videos--since Mom snoops in her diary but can't work the web, Anne says online what she can't write at home. A lot of Fringe shows are standup, improv, music, performance art, or circus, but "Diary" is full-on theatre, a play encompassing a whole life in under an hour. Moved me as a viewer, impressed me as a writer/performer. I'll be watching for more from her. When I review Fringe shows I have two readers in mind: mainly Fringe goers, but I try to include suggestions for improvement, for the playwright and actors. But for "Diary" I can't. Nothing I'd change at all." -Chris Wayan, San Francisco Review
Anthology Reviews
"After quickly consuming the first offering in this appropriately named volume of Ms. Whitehorn's plays, I knew I was going to have to slow down to enjoy the exquisite angst. Many of the plays unfold like a slow motion train wreck, where you cannot look away. You don't really see it coming until it's too late, and then you just have to watch the whole thing come off the rails.
The humor is dark, but rings true for each situation. I believe these are real people. Whitehorn's ability to weave the natural humor into the tragic circumstances of many of the plays feel both bearable and more emotionally impactful. It makes you care more about the characters.
I haven't acted in over 30 years now, but reading her plays does make me itch to tread the boards once more." --Susanna G. White
"Her writing is so wonderfully out-of-the-box and the concepts are dark and playful at the same time. Be prepared to have all the "formulas" you're used to blown out of the water. Heads up if you're an actor looking for a monologue or shared scene, there are a bunch of them that are really unique and layered (and edgy) and will totally grab attention at a casting call (I am crazy about the MILF monologue in Mourning After- so rare to find such a sexy/interesting monologue for an "older woman") And if you're not an actor, just enjoy the fact that there are still talented writers out there that will give you more than you bargained for. Every. Damn. Story." --Mary Wall
"Chloe Whitehorn is obsessed with darkness and danger. Spectators sit on the edge of their seats watching her characters wrestle with destructive situations and traps of their own making. Actors kill to play these morally compromised roles, and directors love the ambiguity and sense of dread. She has an impeccable ear and writes with subtlety and urgency. Never a dull moment." --Molly Thom, Producer, Director, Dramaturge
"This book is absolutely phenomenal! The characters are well rounded and feel very real! The stories are tragic but beautiful! The writer draws you in from the very start of each play, and immediately you want to know more about them, and what's happening! I was fortunate enough to see one of these shows at the best of Toronto Fringe Festival a few years ago, and I would absolutely go see any show written by this author! She takes subject matter that is often avoided and even taboo and makes you ask the BIG questions! Her writing is witty, sexy, clever and even though the stories are tragic there are some laugh out loud moments! Would highly recommend!" --Shannon Donnelly
"These plays are all incredible. From the space filling Greek Chorus/Breakfast Club of Divine Wrecks, to the intimate two-hander Waltzing with Puppets. Chloe Whitehorn is such an exciting wordsmith flowing from casual, natural dialogue directly into her trademark poetic direct address so smoothly as to be more natural than realism ever could. After reading one of her scripts or better yet seeing it produced, it lives with you, present in the back of your mind, even though it isn't in your everyday life, like an estranged friend."