Beth Bowden — Theater Critic

But, packing this divisive conversation into 80 minutes is a tough task. It’s not enough time. This is my main critique - it never feels like we really get to the crux of the issues at hand. If this is a play about stepping out of the echo chamber and encouraging us to challenge our strongly held beliefs, the play stops just at the point where this conversation begins. It’s rare nowadays to spend time with people (outside of X, formerly known as Twitter) who genuinely believe something different to ourselves - and spend the time listening to the reasons behind their opinions. But with Pins and Needles, the 3 characters rarely interact, and the story stops at the point where the threads of the story begin to intersect: where the most difficult conversation begins. This leaves the play feeling too predictable, and more of a (really great) introduction to the conversation, history and the science surrounding vaccination.