Human Things

Human Things, a new play from Joshua Owen now at the West End Theatre, leaves us with questions. Not necessarily the ones the author intended.

The story follows a young couple, Margaret (Rebecca Robles) and Greg (Ben Rosenfield), who have been isolated on a remote South Pacific island for a couple of years. There is obvious discord in their relationship. Margaret, a biologist studying a decreasing migratory bird population on that island, is focused on climate change; she’s desperate to do something to avoid what she sees as the impending demise of humanity. Greg, an engineer, is struggling to find his purpose there, or in life in general, wondering if anything matters at all in the bigger scheme of things.

Their isolated life is disrupted when a retired couple, Bo (Michael Mulheren) and Darce (Victoria Clark), crash their boat into a nearby reef. Bo and Darce, in contrast with the younger couple, bring their supportive relationship and existential view of the circumstances and life with them. They share their feelings about everything with the highly educated young couple, whether they are invited to or not. Darce sums up their view of humans’ temporary presence on earth: “Life is mostly sitting and watching.” Then the island is hit with a category five typhoon and Act 2 deals with the aftermath.

It’s significant to mention that this show runs at the West End Theater in a small, 80-seat, non-air-conditioned auditorium. It was a hot and humid the day I saw Human Things in this intimate space, and the fog machines that were added for theatrical effect made it damn uncomfortable. Certainly, moving to a different venue would help alleviate some of that discomfort. It would also fix the problem of awkwardly making the entire audience retire to the hallway for the 20-minute intermission so they could reset the stage.

The troublesome logistics of the venue aside, scenic design by Jacob Bers was excellent and could go just as it is, perhaps a bit larger, to a bigger theater stage. What Reza Behjat (Lighting Design) and Ian Scott (Sound Design) created within that small auditorium was tight; dramatic when it needed to be, appropriately either ominous or quietly reflective and simply on point at every turn.

Director Rory McGregor wisely let this amazing cast develop their characters fully, and that is the biggest gift of this show. Getting to see two-time Tony winner Victoria Clark at most two feet away, giving a performance that would no doubt win her a third Tony, was worth the inhospitable conditions. When she is on stage, it’s impossible not to focus on her. She is well complimented by Tony nominee Michael Mulheren as her husband Bo. These two theater veterans play off each other very, very well. Holding their own in that super talented company are Ben Rosenfield as Greg, and as Margaret, Rebecca Robles (Robles not only plays a principal character, she is also the playwright’s wife and co-produced the show).

This is the first play by Joshua Owens to be produced Off-Broadway. The first act of Human Things was written five years ago – his themes of isolation reflect the times of the pandemic. The hypothetical situation was sufficiently researched to be a viable plot. Owens wrote the Margaret character with his wife in mind. The dialogue in the first act flowed naturally and realistically. It had a lot of promise.

However, Owens didn’t write the second act until years later, which perhaps explains why the well-developed first act fell apart in the second act. The characters became inconsistent. The laissez-faire Greg we met in Act 1 became obsessive, and at times mean, not at all like the person we met before.The believable scenario turned into science fiction, with preposterous quandaries, notably the appearance of a 3 foot tall garish gold “egg” with spikes that Greg mysteriously “found.” We don’t know if it was unearthed in the storm upheaval or if it came from outer space. If not before, certainly at that moment Human Things jumped the shark. Fortunately, Act 2 itself only lasted as long as the intermission, but structurally, it made the show feel very unbalanced.

Even the strongest cast can only compensate so much for a script out of harmony with itself. The playwright hoped the audience would be left with existential queries. Instead, I was left questioning what was the purpose of this play. Threats of AI, climate change, nuclear war, bad actors (the socially dangerous kind, not the thespian kind) all loom large. As the arts reflect our collective moral and social dilemmas, I have no doubt we will soon be seeing many more shows that examine possible human extinction.

Human Things
At The West End Theatre
263 West 86th St.
Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes, one 20-minute intermission
Through October 18, 2026