Under the Radar Festival, The Public Theater, New York, NY, January 4–22, 2023.

This year’s Under the Radar Festival featured performances epic in nature, and by that I mean: Western history and culture, broadly writ, was the topic at hand. As the first UTR festival since 2020, the lineup marked a return to theatre and the resilience of theatre companies who have been able to make new work or keep older projects alive through the turbulent pandemic years. Perhaps in a reflection of a pandemic mental state, the works presented focus on big questions. Some chose to revisit foundational stories that Western culture returns to again and again: Adam and Eve, Moby Dick, or the rise and fall of humanity more generally. Some tried to face what we have become, especially considering AI technologies and social media’s algorithms. And some asked more simply, What have we done, as we watch...

You do not currently have access to this content.