Disruption – 06 August 2026
At this point, it already feels like artificial intelligence knows our every move. But what if there was an algorithm out there that cared about us? What if we could know with certainty what choices would make us happy? Can you put a price on happiness? In Disruption by Andrew Stein, a smart-minded business man named Nick (John David Washington) tries to get his friends to buy into testing an algorithm he’s developing with his tech genius business partner Raven (Emma Kikue). Nick and Raven have already stolen data on Nick’s friends, and begin actively using it to manipulate them into investing. The dominoes fall fast, and it’s haunting– but what will happen when the experiment gets out of hand and the humans are no longer in control?
Disruption reveals from the beginning exactly what will happen, and has the audience hoping that something will deviate. Though there is one fairly significant surprise at the end, even that surprise does not deviate from the road plan laid out by the algorithm in the first act. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, Disruption lays out exactly what these algorithms can do and boldly asks us what we think and feel– essentially what we’re going to do about it. On the other hand, Disruption misses a powerful opportunity to give a directive on how we can save humanity. Not expressing an opinion feels like a missed opportunity– unless the goal is to leave us bereft of hope. Unfortunately, following the exact plan down to the letter creates a little tedium in the process of watching this show on stage, and sucking the hope out of humanity is a risky endeavor for this production because its outcome is painted as inevitable. But then again, this production reaches us while we can still “think for ourselves.” Yet counter to that, this algorithm that controls the trajectories of human lives is allegedly programmed to maximize happiness. But then the playwright (Andrew Stein) doesn’t address what happens when one person’s happiness is in direct opposition to another. How would this algorithm address who gets to be happy? All this to say, Disruption raised intelligent questions that pry into areas we’d rather not think about, but it did it in a chaotic free-for-all where we have to draw our own conclusions. In a way, this is reinforcing the importance of thinking for ourselves and reaffirming that we can.
Design elements were simultaneously impressive and confusing. When video design (Yana Biryükova) first appeared, I thought it was stunning. Yet too many motifs were used to mean the same thing, and by the end I was confused by when the design was following a motif versus not. I didn’t understand why certain things (like the cookies) were displayed differently than other influences of the algorithm. Caroline Eng (sound design) did a fantastic job of making the danger palpable, and Reza Behjat (lighting design) masterfully manipulated the space to show sharp moments of isolation and frightful moments of connection. Costume design (Zoë Hurwitz) captured each character brilliantly. Scenic design (Zoë Hurwitz) was minimalist and functional; the production relied heavily on video, which made sense given the subject material.
The experience of watching Disruption was a real nail-biter despite everything being foretold. The audience was rooting for the characters the whole way through. The night I saw it, there was a moment when the entire audience had a visceral response to what one of the characters was about to tell the other, and we were all collectively (quietly) trying to stop her. I heard gasps, I saw hand gestures, and everybody moved to the edge of their seat. This deeply human moment was a delightful surprise at a show about allowing an algorithm to make your decisions for you. It gave me hope that people are not ready to give up the fight to think and feel for ourselves.
Disruption is important because it does exactly what the title says it will– it disrupts our lives to remind us that we may not be the sole owners of our lives and that everything can be taken away from us– and worse, we may think we’re giving consent. The character who refused to give consent died. Coincidence? Not in a world created and controlled by a writer, director (Hersh Ellis), performers, etc. In a way, theatre as an art form demonstrates the kind of control Disruption speaks of. Even if the actor has another thought in their brain, they take direction. They say the words that are on the page even if there are better ones to express how the character (who is not themself) feels. Disruption is clever on a number of levels that you don’t necessarily realize in the moment in which you are seeing it. This star-studded cast does a truly fantastic job of existing inside a bold and unique technologically oriented space. Though the future it casts is bleak, this cautionary tale is strong.
I attended this performance on a press pass from Print Shop PR.
