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17 Dogs

"17 Dogs is an astonishing piece of writing.   Chambers has a Tarantino-like ability to make us laugh, while chilling our blood—to perform glib magician’s tricks with words while wrapping his characters with thick layers of sub-text.  You will not be bored."  -Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun

"What sets Chambers’ black comedies apart, beyond a preference for misfits, losers, and short fuses, is the original verbal wit he gives them without selling out their street cred.  17 Dogs reveals a surer command than ever. It brings a lyrical quality to violence and violence to lyricism (and humour to both)."  -Liz Nichols, Edmonton Journal

"17 Dogs takes a dark and twisted pleasure in juxtaposing cruelty and innocence, trust and betrayal, and director Ron Jenkins has assembled a high-energy cast whose feverish performances capture the intensity of Chambers’s sharp, punchy dialogue and the escalating physicality of the action.  …17 Dogs’ greatest strength may be its ability to find humour in so many places…" –Penny Cholmondeley, Vue Weekly

Respectable

"...Respectable is as hilarious and horrifying and somehow poignant as you might expect from the author of Marg Szkaluba and the scabrous Dirt.  This time out, though, there's a genuine mystery.  And there's a vision of "the respectable" so bizarre you can't be 100 per cent sure it too isn't part of Chambers' zinging satire of our smug culture of certainties about the religion of business."  -Liz Nichols, Edmonton Journal

"It's so rare for a play to be this blisteringly funny yet also confront you with so many serious questions..." -Paul Matwychuk, Vue Weekly

"The impact grows as you begin to see what the production is getting at, leading to a climax that is blistering in its condemnation of the kind of social, economic and environmental attitudes that this province seems to have in unsettling abundance.  Just what is "respectable" nowadays? asks the playwright.  Is it the person who has earned it through good deeds and a good heart, or the person who has power, money and influence?  If you are into theatre that makes you laugh - and think - then this Workshop West production is a one-two knockout punch."  -Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun

"Respectable is an engaging and very funny comedy of losers with an edge to it."-Bob Clark, Calgary Herald

"Respectable is a briskly-paced riot, that, though possessing some radical ideas, is genuinely entertaining."-Lisa Wilton, Calgary Sun

"...utopian babble..." –Toronto Globe and Mail

Dirt

"Chambers's ear for the language and his sense of the malevolence and greed behind public rhetoric are definite strengths of this work.  Murphy's language in particular is a carefully observed dialect where personal pronouns just get in the way.  Falkin's cliche-ridden patter speaks for his lack of thought and his habit of classifying everyone before (or in the absence of) any evidence.  Greta tries to write job application after job application, searching for that elusive desperate-but-competent tone and winning phrase that will win her a job no one should want in the first place.  The effect of such language is partly comic as the characters become so predictable, almost robotic, in how they say things.  This sets up a tension with the soul-grinding grimness of what they have to say and what it means to them (and to the audience) as people."   -Don Perkins, New West Review

"Dirt sticks- on the hands and in the craw."  -Liz Nichols, Edmonton Journal

"Chambers has written a strong play and, under the skilled direction of Ben Henderson, Theatre Network's production of Dirt is as gritty and abrasive as those uncomfortable questions it raises. Dirt is coarse and vile and very provocative."  -Margaret Macpherson, See Magazine

"Dirt is the sitcom from hell." - Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun

Marg Szkaluba (Pissy’s Wife)

"Chambers' fine script is a model of restraint, bleak humour and economy." -Liz Nichols, Edmonton Journal

"Ron Chambers' Marg Szkaluba (Pissy's Wife) is a well-crafted new script of serious intent. Chambers is a master of poetry.  As Marg runs through the details of her mundane life, Chambers loads the text with wit and insight.  This "dumb" woman comes a cross with a poetic sensibility and soulful understanding that cleverly belies her ignorance.  He manipulates the story with superb dexterity, making the dramatic steps to Marg's first "cuff across the jaw" subtle enough that the violence is a surprise to the audience, yet they are drawn into the story in a way that they almost accept it.  Chambers pulls the audience in as Pissy draws Marg in, and as he does, they understand that it is not a simple task to leave an abuser.  ...an uplifting story of the triumph of the human spirit." -Sherri Ritchie, New West Review

"Ron Chambers creates a wonderfully dimensional character..." - Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun

"Marg Szkaluba (Pissy's Wife) does a fine job detailing the journey of an honest, straightforward woman, whether it's confusion over the mixed messages contained in The Bible or her admission that her wedding held all the joy of a funeral.  Through Marg's plight, Chambers demonstrates that an abuse victim can control her own destiny.  But that doesn't mean the choices she makes will be easy or bring about quick resolution to the situation.  The simple production values... adds further intensity and intimacy to an extremely toughing, albeit black, musical comedy." -Riva Harrison, Winnipeg Sun

"So thoroughly descriptive is Chambers' script, one can almost smell the sharp scent of the Szkaluba farm and feel the oppressiveness of Marg's bleak situation.  ...a genuinely uplifting play..."  -Lisa Wilton, Calgary Sun

"Go see this production. If for no other reason than to see a young actress give the performance of a lifetime. This heart rending play filled with original country music by Paul Morgan Donald is spellbinding. Must see!" -Judy Unwin for ITV Edmonton

The Knowing Bird

"...a delightful farce about coping with a weight problem... Chambers doesn't settle for cliches. His characters are more unpredictable and edgy than those usually found in farce. Though Chambers understands his characters' addictions and neuroses he is never mean-spirited in exposing them for laughs."  -Louis B. Hobson, Calgary Sun

Audience comments on the Alberta Theatre Projects (premiere) production of The Knowing Bird:

"I have been attending for several seasons and this is in the top 3. Wonderful and refreshing honest, thank you!"
"I have been a season's ticket holder with ATP for almost 20 years. This was, without exaggeration, one of the most entertaining, thought-provoking, thoroughly enjoyable pieces of theatre I've ever had the pleasure to watch."
"For anyone who has struggled with weight and the meaning of life, this show is fun and entertaining."
"This was, in my humble opinion, one of the best PlayRites productions I've seen in going to several years of performances."
"I was so impressed with this piece. I thought the subject matter was handled with the perfect balance of humor and sensitivity..."
"By far the best show so far this season...too bad our seat friends had to miss this one."
"...an entertaining, well-written and well-acted play, which I hope will have a life beyond the Festival."
"Loved it."