Luckily for us, Red Light Winter held over until March 22.

This is not a review. We’re not doing those right now (although we might start down the road a bit). This is a gush. This is a love letter to playwright Adam Rapp, and a fan letter to the cast and production team that make up the Speckled Bird Equity Co-op. This is one of those plays that makes you want to call all your friends and tell them to see it come hell or high water or, if you happen to have a blog, to go straight home and gush about it.

Simply put, this is the kind of play that should be being mounted here, the kind of work that utterly convinces you that theatre is still vital. For non-theatregoers, it’s a preconception killer. It is contemporary, it’s raw, it’s heartbreaking, it’s freaking hilarious, and it’s not afraid to be smart. Actually, it proves that you can write a smart play that can still pierce your audience to its emotional centre. And most importantly, it’s identifiable. Either you recognize aspects of yourself onstage, or you recognize aspects of people in your life. It will give you pause. That’s good theatre.

Technically, the play is superb. If you’re an actor, you really want to see this cast work. Unselfconscious, simple acting between people listening to each other. God, I love watching actors listen to each other. Their timing was splendid, and every pause was earned. I was drawn in. This is great direction married to open acting.

Two acts, cast of three, lights up and lights down. With songs by Tom Waits. Red Light Winter is being held over until this Saturday at the Havana, you will love me for recommending this play to you. Click here for more info.