Surrealism is often defined as the juxtaposition of two ordinarily unlike things. The near-future Westphalia is certainly just that. The original Westphalia was the region where part of a peace treaty included, for the first time, sovereignty was established for nations and states making them the bargaining parties in truces and treaties. Formerly tribes or other family groups would make determinations. And a few hundred years later, citizenship becomes a commodity to be sold, bought and traded. And why not?! Corporations are people, right Citizens United?!
Edward Robert (Steven Hauck) is a scion, a captain of industry and a man who loves exotic women. He and his daughter Sandy (Sydney Lo) and his son Kris (Neil Dawson) are visiting the offices of Cit-Ex to consult about their future with the Dealer, Leanna Brown (Laura Jordan). What is Cit-Ex? How fortunate you’re already sitting when you attend – it will take you more than a moment to wrap your brain around what’s going on.
Set in the near future, a mere four years or so from now, playwright Helen Banner has penned a brilliant piece of speculative fiction. The most spine-tingling aspect of it is just-how-close it is to a modest projection of technology, Artificial Intelligence, humanity and the integration of all of it. Phoebe Lloyd is the humanoid robot Kultur 1 – to me this entity feels like C3PO’s great-great-great progenitor with all of the candor and none of the angst. She is measured, logical and reminds me a great deal of a Socratic method Mary Poppins guiding humans to someplace different. We have a world ungoverned by Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Where does that leave humans, and does that necessarily mean a gateway to the destruction of humans as we know them? You’ll need to see this show.
There are also cultural conflicts surrounding the human side of the equation - classicism, racism, tradition and how we see ourselves in the world. How do we see our role in contact with others? Yet all of this is the tip of the iceberg. Begs the question – are we on the Titanic or is there another way?
Lila Rachel Becker expertly directs with Courtney Gaston on lighting and projection design (lots of Easter eggs…take it all in!), Deborah Caney’s costumes and Joshua Dumas sound design. These artists combine to make a whole greater than the parts. My brain is still spinning and this is just the start of Luna’s new season!
See Westphalia! This brilliant show runs only through November 12, so get your tickets now at https://www.lunastage.org/westphalia.