double-click image for hi-res | credit: megan sheble
raves for
hearing voices (speaking in tongues)
Widely acclaimed for its lyric portrait of his mother's life with schizophrenia, Michael Mack's one-man play Hearing Voices (Speaking in Tongues) has received a wealth of praise from....
praise from press & media
"Exquisite...heartbreaking...will truly resonate with those who know that awful place where insanity and love collide."
—National Public Radio
"Mack's breathtaking performance casts vivid poetic light on one of life's most inexpressible and commonplace sorrows."
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Transcendent art that reaches out with unblinking honesty."
—Boston Sunday Globe
"Moments of great warmth come through his family chronicle. It is a work of redemption."
—Philadelphia Weekly
"Redemption comes in well-defined characters and Mack's ability to flow through renditions of his mother and family members. He knows his subject well."
—Village Voice
"A work of devastating clarity that uses simple language and rich metaphor to create a powerful evocation of his and his mother's life."
—Boston Globe
"Compelling, informative....a vivid snapshot of one family's journey. This spoken word performance has at its heart the power to entertain, transport, and transform."
—Showcase Magazine
"It is art for the sake of art and memory and healing."
—Washington Post
"Mack's poetry is more than cathartic, it is remarkable."
—Baltimore Sun
"In his beautiful, compelling memoir, Mack switches seamlessly between past and present voices. Graphic, fragmented, and honest, Mack gracefully enlightens."
—Minneapolis Skyway News
"Searing metaphors.... Schizophrenia shattered his family, but Michael Mack recalls love and spirit."
—Worcester Telegram & Gazette
"An especially poignant look at the fuzzy line between illness and religious illumination. Tender, stirring, uplifting....a must see."
—The Rake (Minneapolis)
