If you thirst after the euphoria of pure acting, with no frills, you will have what we in the biz call an Epiphany at Mortal Coil…Where we would expect tearful clichés, we get privileged glances into humanity; where we expect shtick, we get, with beautiful simplicity, real believable characters…Everyone who professes a love of theatre or the arts needs to shanghai their cliques and take them to see what talent and character can forge.

Keith Joseph

Cleveland Scene
  Very provocative. I think that all persons involved in end-of-life care should have the opportunity to see it. Lester really challenges your safe spots.

David McGrew, MD

I was moved by the honesty of the script and the artistry with which the actor portrayed patients.

Carol H. Erlich, RN
 
 

Lester Thomas Shane has crafted an endearing, compelling and thought provoking solo work on the comfortable subject of dying…Shane transcends age, gender and ethnicity in his expert interpretations of 13 distinct characters…For those who fear or exalt the ultimate journey, this show should provide welcome alternative views.

Martin Hernandez

La Weekly
  It’s a compassionate, carefully crafted hour with a baker’s dozen of intensely memorable characters drawn from life – patients, caregiver’s family and hospice workers…The characters are stunningly diverse…The writing is refreshingly unsentimental, and in places is mordantly funny…It may be a cliché to say that a show like Mortal Coil is ultimately life-affirming, but it’s true. It’s also an entertaining brief evening in the theatre, well worth seeing.

Linda Eisenstein

Cleveland Plain Dealer
 

 How often is it that we get to witness an actor truly practice his craft?…Lester Thomas Shane does just that in Shane’s Mortal Coil. Shane acts with abandon, smoothly making the transition from one character to the next…In his series of compelling monologues, Shane portrays patients, caregivers and staff during this single evening in a hospice unit

Doreen Cudnick

Gay People’s Chronicle
 
 I am struck by the power of the stories portrayed and the force of Lester Shane’s performance. Mortal Coil achieves what volumes of textbooks and essays can not do, effectively conveying a sense of the lived experience of dying…We see suffering, but we also glimpse episodes of joy and triumph. Mortal Coil should be seen by every student in clinical training, by physicians and nurses in practice and by everyone concerned with how family members – and ultimately themselves will die.

Ira Byock, MD

Missuola Project
 
For one hour, Shane steps into the hearts, minds and feelings of these characters…At once moving, tearful and funny, Shane gives us window not only into the world of hospice, but what it means to be mortally human.”

Fran Heller

Cleveland Jewish News
  Here are very strong and distinct personalities and one recognizes them all. They face death with humor and compassion and embrace life free of ordinary illusions. There was a wonderful silent pause at the end of the performance followed by a standing ovation.

NHO Great Adventure

Mortal Coil is more thought provoking than sad, more informative than maudlin. Above all it is acting without adornment. Shane’s language is provocatively disturbing, funny and unsentimental …This is for everyone concerned about life and death.

Ebba Torngren

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