←Recommendations of Nightwatch

Nightwatch is a gripping and emotional journey into family secrets and cultural identity. Max Yu masterfully blends history with personal discovery, offering a powerful exploration of generational trauma and revolution. A deeply moving, thought-provoking piece that demands to be seen.

Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre company in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize Nightwatch by Max Yu as a Semi-Finalist for the 2024 Premiere Play Festival. Nightwatch rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 48 Semi-Finalists out of 760 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by how the play is a unique, well-written piece that deals with issues of cultural identity, oppressive governmental regimes, and quiet acts of revolution, all through the lens of one family's relationship. Our congratulations and thanks to Max.

A moving play about remembering where you come from. This family is full of rich characters. Would love to see this produced.

Gorgeous and piercing. Goes straight to the emotional quick. One of the most economical uses of language to cover such a sprawling and difficult range of topics that I’ve ever seen.

This play is complexly intergenerational, utilizes theatrical time-jumping, and with a blend of poetic and conversational dialogue, sings of class jumping, revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, tragedies hidden to protect loved ones, depression's desperation, and devastating hardships faced by a Chinese and Chinese-American family.

Even on the page, this play feels so fully realized. The characters are complex and flawed, yet deeply empathetic. And the transitions between the naturalistic dialogue and the poetic soliloquies are so smooth you can almost see them play out before you. But what impressed me most was the pace: you are never bored, just consistently enraptured and eager to discover the next element of the story. It's always surprising, never cheap, and incredibly impactful. One of the best plays I've had the joy to read on this site

Rhythmically poetic, with so much heart. This play deals beautifully with the intricacies of family, history, and the complex nature of generational trauma. Highly recommend!

A grounded, beautifully rendered tale about, to my mind, how hard it is to really understand the generations that come before us, and that goes double for first generation Americans, growing up a world away, and how important it is to hold onto and share those stories.

An unforgettable and blisteringly honest piece of theater. Do not miss this show.

A gorgeously rendered and infinitely human story that is an equally compelling personal narrative as it as an historical and political one. The pliability of time/space and the impactful double casting make for theatrically/visually striking storytelling. Each character Yu examines in this family constellation is well-rendered. He certainly doesn't let any of the characters and their flaws and challenges off scot free, but shows remarkable compassion for them throughout, even as they hurt and push away one another. The end reflects the irregular, unresolved nature of grief while showing a path forward for Leo.