Rogue Machine at
The Matrix
anthropology Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Recommended
"...The trouble-making potential of AI catalyzes an intriguing dramatic premise into a full-blown plot. Gunderson, a prolific and popular playwright whose works include "I and You" and "The Book of Will," is a more orthodox writer than Jordan Harrison, whose play "Marjorie Prime" tackles similar thematic material but in a more austere dramatic form."
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
"...The terrible beauty of grief is that it makes us do irrational things with the most rational tools. In Lauren Gunderson‘s anthropology, now in its North American premiere at Rogue Machine Theatre, a Silicon Valley software engineer named Merril uses artificial intelligence to resurrect her missing sister Angie, only to discover that the most sophisticated algorithms cannot decode the human heart. The result is a thriller that pulses with technological anxiety and emotional intelligence, even as it can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a taut mystery or a meditation on loss."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...What if an algorithm could bring back someone you'd lost, or a near-perfect facsimile of that person? What if that algorithm could then investigate their disappearance and come up with answers even the police couldn't find? This is the heady premise of Lauren Gunderson's anthropology, the latest slam dunk for Rogue Machine Theatre."
LA Theatrix- Recommended
"...No matter how often we are reminded, it's hard to fathom how much of our lives are online. TV, movies and true crime podcasts are replete with digital sleuths combing the internet for clues. Every transaction, message, and location is recorded. Cameras see where someone has been and calendar-invites can reveal where someone will go. Even the least connected members of society leave a digital trail of crumbs."
ArtsBeatLA- Recommended
"...anthropology starts slow but gets better and better as it goes along until it fully ignites in its powerful ending. I’d recommend it."
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...The issues lie mainly in the script. For instance, with Merril's brilliance as a programmer, it is not unreasonable to expect that she would show more concern - panic, even - that the entity she has created has jailbroken itself from its contained environment and can now access the vast sea of information that is the Internet. But the play bypasses this security breach by quickly moving onto the next action. Similarly, when AI Angie's misleading text causes Raquel to show up at Merril's door in mere minutes, Merril's emotions jump from shocked anger with her creation to an immediate seduction of her ex-girlfriend. The juxtaposition is jarring, and similar radical shifts happen often."
Larchmont Buzz- Highly Recommended
"...There are plays, and then there are plays. See a lot of them and you learn to appreciate those with even a few elements of greatness: complex and compelling characters. A relevant theme that tackles a big question or two. High-stakes conflict. Strong structure and pacing. An intellectual and emotional impact. A distinctive voice."