The Humanities

Playwright Zayd Ayers Dohrn shares that he wrote The Humanities with the understanding that disruptive forces are fracturing our society. He believed the current political climate, filled with division and unrest, compelled him to write a play that shows how individuals and ideologies drive us apart. The play unfolds at an elite American university, where the Dean of the College, Carole (Sabine Wan), talks with tenured professors Milta (Isa Arciniegas) and Martin (Steve Pickering). Carole and Milta are upset with Martin for inviting the controversial speaker Luka (Daniil Krimer) to lecture at the college. Students have been aggressively protesting his speaking and have formed a protest, getting over 14,000 people to sign and join their protest to stop him. This leads to intense debates, sparking discord between individuals with opposing views and challenging their beliefs and values.

The play then shifts to other faculty members discussing the protest, then abruptly to a female professor, Margot (Naomi Evans), who is married to Martin, sexually propositions newly hired Assistant Professor Jonas, played by Ernest Bentley. The play's shifting scenes play a crucial role in promoting acceptance of sexual independence, more so than its themes of free speech, censorship, academic freedom, and political violence.

The play's plot has value; however, it felt more like an erotic escapade of individuals discovering their sexuality than a meaningful protest against a controversial speaker. It featured unnecessary nudity that added no significance to the production. The focus appears to shift away from the core narrative of the protest against the controversial speaker, elevating the sexual subplot to a more central role and diluting the original intent, leaving the audience confused about whether I was seeing a play about the protest for free speech, censorship, or acceptance of one's sexual preference. A play can have a blended plot and subplot; however, it needs enough space for each narrative to breathe without suffocating the other, and this play misses the academic disciplines of its title.

⭐⭐ STARS

Victory Gardens Theater

THE HUMANITIES

By Zayd Ayers Dohrn

Directed by Edward Torres, SDC

September 10, 2026, through October 4, 2026

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