The Antiquities = Us
Tour of the Permanent Collection in the Museum of Late Human Antiquities
Two female-presenting, “inorganic”(non human) guides introduce a dozen enacted exhibits depicting the years 1816-2240 indicated by a lighted sign. The play’s familiar crux? Humanity has been replaced by that which was created to serve. Associated invention – the light bulb, iterations of the telephone…are displayed in this museum much as dinosaurs and artifacts are today. Our tour is bookended by Mary Shelly’s telling of Frankenstein. Perceived in retrospect as the first artificial being who turned on his maker, Shelly calls the monster a computer. Clever.
An engineer at a bar celebrates building “life where it didn’t exist,” a rudimentary robot on wheels whose sensors independently avoid collision. “Like a baby’s first steps. One day your car will drive you around,” he comments to the bartender…A woman talks to her son about death. They watch a BETA tape… A family’s first boxy computer excites.
A promising high tech student dies. Her friends gather. One resolves to keep the girl’s daily blog going so she lives on…Three young men listen to vocal samples in order to choose Siri’s voice…Acknowledging casting preferences for less than perfect faces to contrast with AI, an actress ponders whether to get a “procedure.”
A boy confides his loneliness to an inorganic house system in the middle of a desultory shopping list.
His father wonders why…Rebels flee a regime of non-humans. When one decides to strike out
on her own, universal internet connection must be surgically removed. (Many of these stories echo
Twilight Zone and Star Trek episodes.)…At the last remaining human settlement, we see a woman churning butter.
Some of the scenes are well drawn, others flimsy. The piece could easily be shorter. Backtracking to elaborate or add perspective makes narrative choppy and counterproductive. Passivity is omnipresent, humor is rare. Ultimately, not enough covers the subject with new vantage point.
Nine skilled actors morph into 45 roles The company is symbiotic: Cindy Cheung, Andrew Garman, Kristen Sieh, Marchánt Davis, Julius Rinzel, Ryan Spahn, Layan Elwazani, Aria Shahghasemi, Amelia Workman.
Co-Directors David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan helm naturalistic parentheses with accomplished aesthetics.
Production values are notably high. Paul Steinberg’s ersatz metal panels provide the perfect canvas. Lighting (Tyler Micoleau) is understated and seemingly exhibit-case-contained. Every era is distinctly constituted by Brenda Abbandandolo’s expensive looking costumes. Unnerving sound by Christopher Darbassie never lets us forget what we see is not real = no longer exists.
Photos by Emilio Madrid
The Antiquities by Jordan Harrison
Directed by David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan
Through March 2, 2025
Playwrights Horizons
416 West 42nd Street
