Shakur Tolliver gives an exceptionally moving performance as Julian.

Charles Isherwood (The Wall Street Journal)

Shakur Tolliver is heartbreakingly sensitive as Julian…

Deb Miller (D.C. Theater Arts)

Lucius is played by Shakur Tolliver, an experienced actor who soars in the role: he turns Guirgis’s prose into an arpeggio of uninhibited confession, retaining a defensive edge yet rapturous in his newfound embrace of life. He gains one’s sympathy and admiration in a way that’s almost alchemical

- Howard Karren (Provincetown Independent)

It would be incredibly easy for such a uniquely minimalistic show to become inaccessible or bland, but phenomenal performances by Gonzalez and Tolliver make the theater feel alive. The pair make up for the mostly empty stage with rich portrayals of two fascinating individuals…

- Jaiden van Bork (Provincetown Magazine)

From the start, Tolliver imbues the role with a deep, physical energy that is the perfect counterpoint to Gonzalez’s darkly tragic and deeply moving characterization of Cruz.

- Sue Mellen (Cape Cod Times)

New York Times Critic Pick

Juan A. Ramírez (New York Times)

…including another young man who seems to fit that last description, played by a beatific Shakur Tolliver, who eventually gets his hands on those flowers — with such insight, heart, and respect that they transcend clichés.

Elysa Gardner (The New York Sun)

an instantly memorable Shakur Tolliver…

Diep Tran (New York Theatre Guide)

Tolliver, as both the repressed choir director and a steampunk Berlin artist who speaks as a squall’s last gasps, has that electric superpower that makes everything on stage feel a little bit dangerous…[Tolliver] doesn’t just make choices; he seizes them, and you’re in their grip, too.

-Lily Janiak (San Francisco Chronicle)

…a star-making performance by Shakur Tolliver…Once again Shakur Tolliver steals a scene as an over-the-top impassioned performance artist who growls the mantra "What's inside is just a lie."

-Steve Murray (Broadway World)

Shakur Tolliver employs his wonderful, back-throated voice full of scratch and rasp as the scary Venus in Berlin whose own drug trip sends his body into such convulsions, gyrations, and falls that one wonders how the actor can get out of bed the next morning. Mr. Tolliver is also the swishy butt, youth director Franklin...In each case, Shakur Tolliver is himself worth the price of the evening’s ticket.

-Eddie Reynolds (Theatre Eddys)

…Mr. Tolliver has a confident swagger that is effective when Verb is goofing off as much as when he’s raging

-Elisabeth Vincentelli (New York Times)

…a fiercely intelligent performance by Shakur Tolliver

-Pete Hempstead (Theater Mania)

With his mellow presence and beaming smile, Shakur Tolliver beautifully plays Verb. Mr. Tolliver forcefully enacts the character’s redemptive journey from seeking creative fulfillment to idealistic militancy.

- Darryl Reilly (Theater Scene)

Blessed Unrest's production is full of movement and energy, and the actors, particularly Tolliver, treat every moment with trembling intensity.

-Helen Shaw (TimeOut)