Blood Knot Reviews
Washington Post- Recommended
"...The script brilliantly escalates from gritty character study to explosive parable, easily accommodating Zinoman's inclusion of a silent black woman (Anika Harden, whose role becomes almost too plain) drifting around the action's edges from time to time. The storytelling bridge is as simple as a suit of clothes, but the playacting it inspires cracks open an ugly Pandora's box. Hinton and Story play this with passion, size and control that you might call orchestral: The sizzling speeches and tart arguments of Fugard's language are that noisy and pointed. As the play finds its climax, it's riveting to see two men so like brothers and yet like strangers, and to see a relationship so fruitfully intimate and so culturally and politically poisoned."
DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended
"...South African playwright Athol Fugard's early masterpiece, Blood Knot, has finally returned to DC. And, judging by the roaring ovation on opening night, those who can see this production during its brief run at Mosaic Theater Company of DC are in for an electrifying experience."
MetroWeekly- Recommended
"...Blood Knot, the groundbreaking '60s drama by white South African playwright, actor, director, and activist Athol Fugard, never loses sight of its main target: the broken system that was Apartheid. Training a sharp eye on the institutionalized oppression and racism that ruled his native country, Fugard, son of an Afrikaner mother and an Irish father, spells out early via dialogue the play's intent to deconstruct the "insult, injury, and inhumanity" inflicted upon the black population by their nation and countrymen."
MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended
"...Zachariah is expertly played by Nathan Hinton. Hinton is a powerful and charming actor who breathes so much life into the character, one moment having the energy and joy of a young boy, the next being beaten down by long days of work in an oppressive society. He is counterpart to Morris who is played by Tom Story. Their bond is strong on stage. Story revealed great depth in Morris, who wrestles with who he is and how he looks. Story finds the heart of Morris, who wants to do better for both of them, and who lives with guilt over something he had no control over. Individually, these men are incredible. Put them together and the result is electric."
DCTheatreScene- Recommended
"...Blood Knot is fifty-six years old, and audiences were different in 1961 than they are now. If you find yourself itching to check your cell phone during one of the first Act's slow parts, relax and imagine you are in that time, where apartheid was the law of the land, in South Africa and here, and there are no cell phones. I promise you, it will be worth the wait."
BroadwayWorld- Recommended
"...Director Joy Zinoman, founding artistic director of Studio Theatre which she led for 35 years, has a history of exploring Fugard's work, previously directing "MASTER HAROLD" ... AND THE BOYS, MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! and THE ROAD TO MECCA (with Tana Hicken and Holly Twyford). Zinoman is known for rich theatrical detail, but in this production the busyness of tasks and use of varied props distract from latching onto a real ongoing connection between the characters. The relationship between the brothers is complex and often rightly obscured, but we don't feel enough of the shared history, the stakes of their symbiotic future, and the day-to-day connection of the brothers."