Chicago Sun-Times

February 21, 2020

★★★★ “Many works onstage claim to ‘take risks,’ yet most stay within fairly well-established boundaries of storytelling. Kill Move Paradise at TimeLine Theatre is one of the few plays to live up to that ambitious claim. … One part existential musing, one part requiem for black lives, one part biting satirical social commentary, this is a unique, hilarious, energetic and unpredictable ride. … Possibly the most outstanding and singularly risky play you will see this year.“

—Sheri Flanders

Chicago Tribune

February 21, 2020

★★★ “Directed with passionate visual panache and visceral emotional force by Wardell Clark … In many moments, incontrovertibly excellent, the work functions as a declaration that black lives matter, that the bodies you see before you do not deserve this fate, that enough is enough, that there is a problem here that all Americans need to solve. … If you’ve read me over the years, you’ll know my lifelong position that theater is at its most effective when it brings people together, moves us, challenges us, and makes us see the unseen. Thanks to these actors, and a director willing and able to show us the cost, the performative cost, of just staying alive, the most secure moments of Kill Move Paradise do precisely that. I’ve seen numerous plays with this theme over the last few weeks, and this is a vivid addition. Clark finds many moments of truth and he builds a beautiful ensemble spirit.“

—Chris Jones

Chicago Reader

February 25, 2020

READER RECOMMENDED. “Directed by Wardell Julius Clark with brutal, beautiful, haunting choreography by Breon Arzell, Kill Move Paradise stands at the unicorn-rare intersection of mesmerizing and indispensable.“

—Catey Sullivan

Windy City Times

February 25, 2020

“A jolting Chicago premiere … Director [Wardell Julius] Clark and his amazing cast find playful ways to wring as much humor out of Kill Move Paradise as possible. And that’s necessary because Ijames’ script can be a gut-puncher as it pays homage to a long list of African Americans whose lives were brutally cut short.”

—Scott C. Morgan

Chicago Theatre Review

February 25, 2020

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “This is a stunning production that will be remembered for years to come. It’s a play that absolutely must be seen by everyone.”

—Colin Douglas

Chicago On Stage

February 21, 2020

“Its playwright, James Ijames, describes Kill Move Paradise as “an expressionistic buzz saw through the contemporary myth that ‘all lives matter.'” Truthfully, while that is certainly accurate, it doesn’t even begin to do justice to the emotional power and existential majesty of the play that is now running at TimeLine Theatre. This is a piece of theatre unlike any you have ever seen or will likely see again: an avant-garde exploration of American racism that is at once shocking, painful, hilarious, and deeply personal. … It is a sharp, multi-bladed knife slicing away any possibility of indifference, and—especially at this time in history—a loud and necessary voice for understanding and change.“

—Karen Topham

Newcity

March 2, 2020

“Wardell Julius Clark’s direction is perfectly matched with [Choreographer Breon] Arzell’s skill for shaping movement. … Clark, along with his talented quartet, have orchestrated one hell of a concert.”

—Amanda Finn

Spash Magazine

February 21, 2020

“Powerful, profound, compelling, challenging … This impactful gut-wrenching drama deals with racial hostility, sacrifice, expiation, martyrdom with revelatory questions directed at themselves and the audience ‘witnesses’. … TimeLine is a thinking person’s theatre that will have you wrestling with how we perceive our world long after the close of this transformative piece.“

—Sue Lillis

Stage and Cinema

February 21, 2020

“A compelling Chicago premiere by TimeLine Theatre, Wardell Julius Clark’s 90-minute staging and a quartet of kinetic performances bring Ijames’ afterlife to an angry apotheosis. … These four performances create a golden gamut. They nail every side of their situation, innocence as much as indignation, the full complex loss that was their lives.”

—Lawrence Bommer

Picks In Six

February 21, 2020

“Kill Move Paradise, magnificently cast and directed by Wardell Julius Clark in its Chicago premiere, is a startling, ambitious and innovative theatrical experience. … The creative team of Ryan Emens (scenic design), Jason Lynch (lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design and composer) and Izumi Inaba (costumes) creates a rugged and fascinating space between life and death that is as imaginative as the characters.”

—Ed Tracy

Picture This Post

February 22, 2020

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “Kill Move Paradise is must-see theater for any and all interested in how theater can not only speak to—but also break through—the paradigms of our time. … Though the set up is tragic, the in-the-moment has way more fun per line than your average script … Ensembles don’t come any tighter.”

—Amy Munice

Let's Play

February 22, 2020

“Gripping and riveting … TimeLine Theatre presents a story that is bold and conceptual … [Director Wardell Julius] Clark puts together a very talented group of men.”

—Rick and Brenda McCain

Third Coast Review

February 22, 2020

★★★★ “Kill Move Paradise is richly imaginative and visually stunning.”

—Nancy Bishop

Around the Town Chicago

February 23, 2020

★★★★ “Talk about power! This is 90 amazing minutes … A highly energetic show with a strong moral and four powerful actors.”

—Alan Bresloff

Rolling Out

February 22, 2020

“By the end of the play, I want there to be a sense of hopefulness and in that hopefulness an understanding of the sheer volume of work we have left to do as a culture.”

Tony Binns of Rolling Out interviews playwright James Ijames about the Chicago premiere of his play Kill Move Paradise.

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