The Secret Life of Humans
Written and Directed by
David Byrne and Kate Stanley
59E59 Theatre
June 10, 2018
Production website
💉 out of 5.

Where are we going as a human race?  Are things getting better, or are we walking to our own destruction?  It sort of depends on the day and what section of the news you open first.  The Secret Life of Humans is a transplant from the Edinburgh Festival last summer.  The play covers a huge range of topics from a very collegiate lecture on the origin of man and the weary steps he has taken forward to the nonsense of a Tinder date that leads into a scavenger hunt over the “undisclosed work of un-named scientist working for the British government during World War 2.”
It is a bit of a mess.  I liked the heady lecture at the top – – that was beautifully matched by actors vertically walking across the back wall of the stage.  It was the PERFECT metaphor for the precarious walk that primitive man has made from those oh, so early days.  BUT when it becomes about two people striking up an online sex event it just becomes too unbelievable and to distracting from the wonderful themes of evolution.  Get rid of the hookup.  Either make us care about these people or cut them and get back to the most interesting college lecture.