Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Rage against the machine: Humanity buckling under pressure in AND THEN WE WERE NO MORE and SLAUGHTER CITY

• By drediman
• October 8, 2025
• No Comments

This past week, I came across a pair of dark and urgently acted Off-Broadway plays that ambitiously attempted to depict humanity exploited, buckling under the pressure of the machinations of societal systems despite some considerable raging against the machine by their characters. Although neither play is perfect, both are nevertheless fascinating thought experiments that have stayed with me long after the proverbial curtains have fallen on the fever dreams they presented. As per usual, read on for my thoughts.

AND THEN WE WERE NO MORE
La MaMa Experimental Theatre
Through November 2

Over at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, you’ll find Tim Blake Nelson’s philosophical dystopian thriller And Then We Were No More (RECOMMENDED). In short, the play contemplates the gradual loss of our individuality in a civilization careening towards singularity. Nelson speculates on some of the consequences of such a future, namely a re-calibrated view of our expendability and an evolving sense of justice that reflects these ideals (no spoilers here as to the disturbing specifics). Although there’s an awkward overarching vagueness in the Nelson’s world-building — which I suspect is intentional in order to give the piece its parable-like vibe — the playwright’s Orwellian and Kafkaesque preview is unsettlingly prescient, especially given that we are fast heading in the direction of the play’s reality. Bringing much needed specificity to the material is the deluxe cast, which includes distinctive and highly accomplished downtown actors like Elizabeth Marvel, Scott Shepherd, and Henry Stram, who appear alongside superb newcomers like Elizabeth Yeoman. Marvel plays an attorney who agrees to represent a deeply damaged and incomprehensible inmate who has been sentenced to death, in the process facing off with and uncovering the shocking moral principles guiding society. Frighteningly, her arguments are recognizable and relatable. Suffice to say, Marvel delivers an impassioned and gutsy performance — as she typically does — as does Yeoman, who portrays the aforementioned inmate with devastating rawness. The production has been directed with simmering intensity by Mark Wing-Davey, whose probing and unsparing staging uses traditional methods of theatricality to depict a futuristic world to fascinating and at times ironic effect (the menacing, retro-inspired set is by David Meyer) .

SLAUGHTER CITY
A.R.T./New York Theaters
Through October 18

Then there’s Small Boat Productions’ presentation — in association with the support of actor Alex Winter (lending his star power here when he’s not on the boards of the current, much publicized revival of Beckett’s Waiting For Godot) — of Naomi Wallace’s Slaughter City (RECOMMENDED), which opened on Monday night at A.R.T./New York Theaters. The production marks the play’s long-awaited New York premiere, having been originally staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company nearly three decades ago in 1996. On the surface, the work depicts the dire conditions of a present-day slaughterhouse, particularly following a group of workers whose welfare on the meatpacking “killing floor” — in terms of safety, regulation, and compensation (let alone various forms of harassment) — only seem to get worse by the day to dehumanizing, soul-crushing effect. Wallace blurs reality by fantastically presenting their predicaments within the broader context of the historical continuum of horrific labor conditions — which have often led to fatal incidents — namely through the eyes of a mysterious and mystical newcomer who inserts themself into the slaughterhouse workplace. Despite being a fascinating framing device, the ambitious conceit often convolutes the play’s depiction of the hard realities faced by its characters. But if you’re willing to lean in, there are riches to be found, especially in the playwright’s voluptuous language, which strives for poetry and often achieves it. Despite a small budget, director Reuven Glezer has satisfactorily captured the pungent atmosphere of Wallace’s world, conjuring a phantasmagorical nightmare from which its characters can’t escape. They’ve also elicited some ferocious acting from the fearless young cast (a special shout goes out to Le’Asha Julius, KP Sgarro, and artistic director Ben Natan for camouflaging the play’s flaws with the impassioned urgency of their performances).