Stabby Stab Stab

Eek! A spooky...friendship?!?

Buckle the f*ck up jagoffs, because Spooky Season came early this year! These two fully-grown adult ladies fooled me (and the audience) into thinking they were tweens. Once I got past the fury of being made a fool, I settled into utter captivation. Also, no one told me that f*cking RADIOHEAD was doing the live music for this show; that was quite the pleasant surprise. Thanks to this show, I am now utterly terrified to become a parent, but I will tell you what's apparent: this show is great!

This warmed my murderino heart

Creepy. Amazingly acted. Great source material. Awesome sounds. What's not to love?

Killer

I loved everything about this show. The writer and actors do a beautiful job of making the audience feel/remember what it feels like to be a pre-teen. The subject matter itself is fascinating. Love to see someone writing a script about a news event while also focusing on themes of adolescence, loneliness, and the internet. Kayla and Nissa are PHENOMENAL. The two play off each other so well and although their characters are similar, they masterfully display subtle differences that really bring the show to life. 5/5 one last show tonight, GO SEE IT!

Stunning

No wonder this show sold out every performance during last year's Horror Fest. This show is so engaging with talent just oozing everywhere. Ew. Go see this show!!! It is worth the little trip! It is EASY to get to the Crane in the time between shows!!! Do it.

Amazing show!

What do you get from the two best Fringe companies in Minnesota? An amazing production of course! Chilling, well acted and written, and definitely a must-see!

Quite The Interpretation!

Even if you only know enough in passing about this true event like me, this is a great, interesting and unique interpretation of what happened. It’s spooky, creepy, artistic and right at home in a theater setting. Really good exploration into how fragile and impressionable a young unstable mind can be. Glad I saw this show.

Every moment is gripping

The acting, visual effects, music, and scenery make for a gripping production.

Spooktacular!

I still cannot believe the actors are not 11yos. How does one act like that? Also, so gripping, live music was also fantastic.

A must see

Might be the best Fringe show I've ever seen. The stage space was small and dark, perfect for a dark subject matter. The actresses seemed to become the 11 year olds before the audience, mannerisms, set pieces and speech patterns. The music was an amazing accompaniment to build the tension. Great use of shadow work, visuals on the walls, and irl sound bites supporting the dialogue. After the show I read up on the actual story and I become more and more impressed with how Anisa and Morgan were brought to life on stage.

Gave me chills (the good kind)

This show was phenomenal because of the heart and thoughtfulness put into the creation and final production. It was polished and included unique live music that adds to each scene. Nissa and Kayla give us an intimate look at young girls who are tormented and found refuge in their friendship. This is an incredibly sweet duo you don’t want to miss.

Wouldst thou like to live stabbily?

I’m so glad that I was able to catch this Fringe remount of “Stabby Stab Stab”. This collaboration couldn’t have worked better. Nissa and Kayla truly captured the troubled and lonely 11 year old Morgan and Anissa in a truly dynamic way. Compelling movement, story, and theatricality make this a very satisfying late show at the Crane.

I loved it

I loved everything about this show. The program was extremely informative the line music was so creepy, the projections helped tell the story in so many ways. The acting was spot on and just fantastic. I really believed that they were both 11 year old girls. I didn't even know that much about the stabbing before seeing the show and I still enjoyed it. So glad I was able to see this show!

Stunning, delightfully spooky, Fringe at its best

I cannot recommend this show enough. With Phenomenal acting, good writing, immersive lighting and sound, I was fully transported. Every single minute was engaging and well thought out, from the minute you step into the space, to the minute the show ends. This is by far the best fringe show I’ve seen.

Gripping, intimate, a few too many A/V effects

I knew very little about this show going in, and it was the perfect scary 10pm show to finish off the night! The theater is *very* small and that worked well for the extremely personal story that was being told - I felt like I was right there in the moment. The music soundscape is fantastic and really pulled me in and helped to build the sense of tension. And finally, the best part of the show -- Nissa and Kayla absolutely shine as the two children (I agree with the other reviewers who mention how good they are at portraying children), and their dynamic is very powerful. They feed off of each other in a very believable, childlike way: watching them goad each other into darker and darker thoughts is the most chilling part and I could watch them spiral for the whole show. I wish more of the show had focused on these two and their dynamic - at times, there were too many audio/visual cues and these would pull me out of the moment just as the actors' chemistry had really started to pull me in. The projections and the voiceover in particular felt jarring or redundant at times, and took me out of the "reality" of the world. That said, horror is very subjective, and these elements just didn't work for me personally! If the description intrigues you, you'll definitely find something worth your time in this show. Highly recommend for any psychological horror fans.

The true definition of horror

This is a well-researched, nuanced, brilliantly-acted show. I was able to feel deep empathy for both the actresses (without spoiling anything), and they each had solid commitment to their characters. Tragic, but eye-opening. And the sounds were incredible. I absolutely loved it.

Slendy Always Wins

I am a GIANT chicken when it comes to horror, and this show did a great job of getting juuuuust up to that line where I survived but had to listen to happy music on the drive home. I was once an 11-year-old girl who thought I was super edgy and different (and knew I was lonely), and the playwright did a wonderful job of making both of these characters relatable and believable. I couldn’t tell where Morgan and Anissa’s words stopped and the playwright’s began. The scariest part of the show for me was the realization that given the wrong influence and the wrong situation, many of us may have become a proxy of the Slenderman. Thank you for gifting us with a show that will stick with me for a long time.

Best Play At The Festival

As theatre artists our job is to embody and reflect the many facets and the depths of the human condition. A play is at its best when speaks to our core, making us more sensitive, more aware and more awake to matters of the heart. It breaks us wide open as we sit with our individual and collective vulnerabilities, and in that space, evolve, grow and miraculously transform. I closed my Fringe experience by watching “Stabby Stab Stab” at The Crane Theatre in Minneapolis. I saved the best for last. In my thirty six years as an actor and the last 20 years as a playwright, never have I seen anything on the stage so truly authentic, aware and sensitive to rarely spoken matters of the heart. This play, based on a true story speaks to the kind of vulnerability and loneliness there simply are not words for, manages to explore the wholeness of the characters hearts and shows what can happen in desperation while unknowingly influenced by heart wrenching forms of mental illness. The playwright, actors, director and musicians contributions flow together so flawlessly in a surreal stream of conscious sort of way that reflect the whole hearts of people and so carefully addresses the realities of schizophrenia in a way I have never seen before. The research of the subject matter was extensive …. The reflection and expression RAW and REAL. This story could have been told in a very one dimensional way, and because of the gifts of those involved it transcended 3 dimensions that pulled the audience out of their out of their seat and into the very center of human vulnerability and the heart. I look forward to seeing more from this group. They have the gift. This play is what theatre is about and is so very very good.

very good

quite the show - spooky, scary, sad and above all very very sweet, charming and touching. the horror elements work splendidly of course, the live soundtrack (kudos to the musicians), the dazzling and dreamy lights, the movement! nissa and amber and the special when lit/winding sheet crew have really cut their teeth in the genre, but what surprised and delighted me most of all was the dynamic between the two girls - the discovery and development of their friendship is mediated through niche internet weirdness in a way that is relatable and timely and expertly drawn out. i also just have to say - i normally really cringe at adults portraying children on stage, but these two really knocked it out of the park. splendid show - do not miss! get tickets ahead of time, or plan to get there at box office open - the show takes place in the crane's studio, which seats about 40.

Absolutely Amazing

I think it can be really hard for adults to portray children in a serious/horror setting, but I was absolutely blown away by the acting in this show. Great care was clearly taken to try and understand Morgan and Anissa. Super engaging. I loved the way that visuals, lighting, and sound were used throughout the performance.

A Horror Delight!

Amazing acting, check! Perfect scenery, check! Flawless tech and score, check! A story and script that’ll keep you thinking about it for weeks, YUP! If you’re a fan of horror and just the theater in general, you should go see this show. It will haunt you (in the best way possible).

Amazing across the board

I missed seeing this show at Twin Cities Horror Festival, so was so glad to see it remounted for Fringe. The acting, writing, staging and music are superb and draw you deeply into the world of the two main characters.

Exceptional Production

I look forward to seeing more productions from this creator.

expect a full house, for a reason!

in the middle of a downpour, at a 10pm show on a weeknight, this show was nearly sold out. there's a reason for this, the show is well-acted, focuses on the 2 girls, played by adult humans who really act like young girls. hella creepy! the sound effects/voiceovers were creepy!

Creepy and Expertly Done

This a brilliant tale of the Slenderman girls of Wisconsin. It's creepy and, in truth, sad, and it's a complicated story handled really well by the actors and director. As the isolated lives and minds of the girls play out on stage, beautiful, intense projections appear behind them, set to an incredibly haunting live soundtrack. Great job by everyone involved. I'm really glad I saw Stabby Stab Stab. It's well worth the easy trek over to the Crane to see it. Reserve ahead.

Favorite Fringe Show (so far!)

Everything about the show is excellent! Nissa and Kayla give haunting performances that resonated with me long after the show was over. The set design was so, so good, and being in the studio at The Crane gave the show a bit of a claustrophobic feel, like you can't escape this. The music by Derek and Sam was perfect and added a gloomy atmosphere to everything. I love that I am still thinking about this show today. Go see it!

STUNNING!

This show does everything right. From the moment you walk into the shadowy, slightly claustophobic theater you start to feel dread, a dread driven by a dark and atmospheric live score. With smart writing (the best script I've seen at Fringe this year so far), razor sharp acting, and clever use of the entire space, this show asks you to really think about the two child charcters, and to think about the real children in the real story. As a fan of creepypastas and all thing cryptid, I had high hopes going in. Those hope were exceded. Do yourself a favor and SEE THIS SHOW! It is lightening in a bottle and you should not miss this amazing show.

Wicked Sharp!

Hats off to the cast and crew, especially writer Nissa Nordland Morgan, who has crafted such an eerie, unsettling, and haunting script. A lesser writer may have felt the need to add in an extra character or two, perhaps another classmate or a parent, arresting officer or counselor, but by having just the two characters reveal their friendship and shared obsessions with us provided an even greater sense of increasing dread, making their journey damn near unstoppable. The sheer hours of research that this script must have demanded is dizzying, given the disturbing real-life subject matter. The lighting and live music accompaniment enhanced this hypnotic crime drama, and I was glad to take in a venue space I hadn’t visited before. One of the best!

GREAT show! (Be warned: it's for real creepy)

Beautiful movement. Wonderful use of the text. It's funnier and more emotionally moving than I expected, though it builds beautifully to it's horror moments. I was sad I missed this show during Horror Fest last year, and I'm SO GLAD I caught it this time! Be sure to plan ahead as this is the only show at The Crane.

Hauntingly Beautiful

I've gone down the Slendy rabbit hole myself, though not to the same depth as Nissa! I have always felt so conflicted about it in a way I don't usually feel about murderers (or attempted murderers). This show really puts you in touch with all the nuances of the story and is so beautifully staged and directed. You could tell it was made for this space. Also very much appreciated the music/sound design. This one is a must-see.

This show is the reason theater exists

YOU HEARD ME.

Exceptional

Winding Sheet Outfit never disappoints. A spooky story with amazing acting, neat effects, and a gripping true story with amazing depth. Go see this show.

Great play in a small space

The production all around was wonderful from the acting, music, and story. However, a large flaw for this production was placing it in the cramped black box theater. While I appreciate the intimate setting for such a spooky tale, it hindered the audiences ability to see the actors, especially when they were on the floor. I was seated in the third row and had an obstructed view for both Kayla and Nissa’s performance. And while I appreciate the addition of live music, I feel that the production could have greatly benefited from the additional space. Highly recommend getting there early and sitting in the front row so you don’t miss a thing!

Uncomfortably Really Good Show!

Start with the one negative - the off-putting nature of the story, played out in front of us, left one feeling very uncomfortable at its conclusion. Unlike Nissa and Sam's "Kentucky Fried" show last year that you left knowing you had been at a Fringe masterpiece, I started at a 7 tonight, started working into an 8 as my wife and I talked about what we'd seen - and as we looked up Morgan and Anissa's real story - and landed on a 9 by the time we got home. The positives - I will try to go to anything Nissa's in, in the Fringe, from the aforementioned "Kentucky Fried," to playing Xena's Gabrielle at Theater in the Round, and even a lovely costume piece on a mosquito-y evening in a Bloomington park. She hits a home-run here as producer, writer and actor - her 11 year old Morgan and Kayla's 11 year-old Anissa are exquisitely performed, from the voices which grabbed my attention immediately, to the akimbo-style mannerisms of girls moving into puberty. The music from Derek and Sam was stunning, fully lending to growing tension and setting the mood changes, over and over. The clever use of projected messaging drew the audience in so much more effectively than having the actors voice it all out for us. And the tale itself - so well-written - and so well-performed for us. Kudos for a great first Fringe show in our 2023 viewing season. And, as an aside, did anyone else connect the (I'm sure it was purely coincidental for Nissa to choose these girls' story) names of the lead characters, aNISSA and MORGAN, to the writer/star's own name Nissa Nordland Morgan? :-)

True Horror Tragedy

I saw this show at Horror Fest last year, and watching it again was fascinated to see how the girls egg each other on, in different ways. These are two vulnerable kids, who are isolated or wounded in different ways, and what starts as a potentially redemptive friendship instead veers into a deeply sad nightmare. Nissa and Kayla both portray what's lovable, or even just human, about these two weird kids, and their connection is really endearing. I appreciated the dignity they gave to these two real people, without excusing their behavior. As a fellow weird kid who read lots of creepypasta as a little guy, I even related to the characters at times. Both times I saw this show, I wanted the best for them, or I wanted someone to intervene. But there's no one to stop the distortions they nurture together from blossoming into something terrible - which is reinforced by the absence of any other characters than these two. Slenderman doesn't have to be real for this story to be haunting