The Antiquities

By Jordan Harrison
Directed by Alex Lonati

March 15, 2026: Calderwood Pavilion, Boston, Massachusetts

Cast

Alison Russo
Kelsey Fonise
Helen Hy-Yuen Swanson
Catia
Jesse Hinson
Tobias Wilson
John Kuntz
Anderson Stinson III
Harry Baker

In a thought-provoking and imaginative play, The Antiquities takes us to the far future when humanity is extinct but we are remembered (with some fondness) by the inorganic lifeforms who replaced us.  The audience members are asked to be explorers wandering The Museum of Late Human Antiquities connecting with specific artifacts and watching as AI actors recreate scenes from humanity’s past.  There are 12 vignettes from 1816 (when Mary Shelley created Frankenstein) to the last days of humanity in the 2240s, and then it goes in reverse chronological order with 12 more scenes that each continue on the first set.  Each scene deals with computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence as well as philosophical ideas of creativity, death, and the meaning of life which the organics refer to as the “messy space between ones and zeros.”

There are nine actors in the show collectively playing over 40 characters and they do an excellent job.  While the 24 segments cumulatively make for a long show, many of the vignettes are short but both the script and the actors do a great job of fleshing out the characters in their full humanity. This may be ironic since they’re supposed to be performed by playacting robots. Alison Russo stands out as the robotic curator who welcomes the audience, Mary Shelley, and in one of the most emotional vignettes, a mother discussing with her son the sickness and death of her brother.

Despite the dark existential themes of the show, it is also very funny.  There are some running gags throughout the show of the AI actors misusing artifacts.  For example, Russo’s mother reaches into a refrigerator and takes out a bottle of shampoo from which she drinks.  Yes, AI gets things wrong, but human curators have also wildly mistaken how objects from ancient times were actually used.  Between scenes, the cast also goes into robotic mode shifting the props around for the next scene.  Some reviews I’ve read said this was grating, but I was amused at how they were committed to the bit.

I think this is one of the best shows I’ve seen so far this year, and one I will be thinking about for some time.  Be warned that in addition the dark themes of the show it contains two simulated sexual acts and a whole lot of profanity, if those things are dealbreakers for you.  The Antiquities continues at the Calderwood Pavilion through March 28.