The Sexual Life of Savages Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Recommended
"...Still, "Savages" is a ribald, intelligent and promising new work. Adventurous playgoers and/or fans of premium cable fare will likely embrace it."
Broadway World- Recommended
"...Very witty script, without one false note, by Ian MacAllister-McDonald; even strong-handed direction by Elina de Santos; and executed by a very abled cast of five make for a wonderful 90-minutes of very strong entertaining theatre."
The Hollywood Reporter- Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Elina de Santos spins those words into rhythmically alert scenes that create an impression that urgent matters are being addressed. The play casts a peculiar spell that only loses its grip as it gradually becomes clear that its core dramatic ideas are so much less compelling than they have appeared. This ambitious, talented play, despite being in good hands, flounders on its central failure of concept and vision."
LA Splash- Recommended
"...This production isn't for children or those who blush easily and are offended by explicit sexual content, but is for anyone who enjoys raunchy punch lines and can take what's offered! Fabulously directed and staged, and superbly cast with riveting performances by all."
Examiner- Recommended
"...Grossman takes the Skylight mission to heart and the role it plays in contributing to society. "The home-run for me is to have audiences walk out of here talking." This play surely reaches that goal."
ArtsInLA- Somewhat Recommended
"...But problematically, form overwhelms substance in the script, disrupting the audience's concentration on the moments MacAllister-McDonald has otherwise carefully crafted. No sooner do we suspend disbelief then the playwright introduces a conceit. Sometimes it's cross-conversations, in which two pairs of actors carry on their dialogue simultaneously. Sometimes it's through the direct-address monologue each characters delivers. The information imparted may be interesting and relevant, but the contrived method of delivery takes its audience out of the story and back into the theater seats."
Grigware Blogspot- Recommended
"...If I do not particularly like the characters of a play, in certain instances if I am repelled by them, I dismiss the play, but in this case, I am making an exception. I do not really like any of these five, but I cannot dismiss their connection to the rampant lack of morality/humanity that casts a harrowing shadow over contemporary small-town America. There is a subtle cry for help by MacAllister-McDonald, very subtle, that we should not ignore."
LifeInLA- Somewhat Recommended
"...All in all, this is a play that wants to tell us to "relax, it's just sex," but seems to have forgotten to tell most of its own characters-which may be the point. It seems that what this play has to say about sex and relationships is contradictory, but perhaps that is the very nature of life and love. Whatever the case, in the end, the play has a great deal more to say about relationships than it does about sex, while still managing to keep men and women on opposing sides of the discourse. And while the themes of the show shift occasionally, there is enough humor and strong performances to keep it all together."
The Los Angeles Post- Recommended
"..."The Sexual Life of Savages" is entertaining and pleasurable."
Joe Straw #9- Recommended
"...The Sexual Life of Savages by Ian MacAllister-McDonald is a thought-provoking night of theatre, of words, and of life's carnal complexities. It is an articulated examination of the act not executed, but examined in its purest linguistic form and in its discomforting verbal intimacy. At heart, The Sexual Life of Savages is a passion play, eminently elegant, but brutal in form, which makes for an exquisite night of theatre and a lot of fun."