Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jordan Harrison’s THE ANTIQUITIES episodically chronicles humanity’s dire future vis-à-vis the rise of A.I.

• By drediman
• February 10, 2025
• No Comments

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to catch up with Jordan Harrison’s latest speculative play The Antiquities, which is currently running Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons (the company is presenting the play alongside Vineyard Theatre and Chicago’s Goodman Theatre). The work takes place far into the future — one in which humans have become extinct and artificial intelligence has taken over. More specifically, the play unfolds within a sort of museum of human history, where visitors can learn about our existence via “slice of life” dioramas that spring to life (the full title of the play is actually A Tour of the Permanent Collection in the Museum of Late Human Antiquities).

As Harrison’s timely follow-up to his quietly heartbreaking Pulitzer Prize Finalist Marjorie Prime, The Antiquities continues down the path of the playwright’s fascination with humanity’s endgame. Like an elaborate episode of Black Mirror, the work charts the downfall of our kind vis-à-vis the rise of A.I. in a parade of episodic, thought-provoking scenes commencing from the 1800s (in a bit of clever foreshadowing, these early scenes depict a young Mary Shelley as she finds her inspiration for her seminal novel Frankenstein) and stretching through centuries until humans are on the brink of disappearing. Although short, the individual scenes come to life with startling vividness, offering museum visitors keen insights into human nature. That these are mere glimpses, however tantalizing, is a function of the play’s construction, for better or worse. Thankfully, Harrison is largely able to raise the emotional temperature from just a few dramatic strokes, bringing welcome tension to a premise that could have well been drawn out.

The Antiquities has been directed with clear-eyed coolness and subtle dark humor by the duo of David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan. Special mention must go to Paul Steinberg’s smart and efficient set design (essentially a metallic box with malleable walls that carve out bespoke nooks and crannies), which creates a convincing sense of illusion and allows the production to quickly transform from one scene to the next. Similarly, the marvelously shape-shifting ensemble cast of nine do well to constantly morph from character to character over the course of 90 minutes — both logistically (those quick costume changes!) and dramatically — as dictated by Harrison’s deadpan and unnerving play.

RECOMMENDED

THE ANTIQUITIES
Off-Broadway, Play
Playwrights Horizons
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through March 2