The Humans was the first and only play we watched as during the course of our Macaulay Seminar, and in my opinion, it was one of the more capturing shows that we’ve been to. Personally, I’m very drawn to character driven stories such as this because characters are given depth rather instead of fulfilling basic archetypes seen in all shows. Such a character focused show on television can often lend to what’s known as a “bottle episode,” which is what I was reminded of throughout the viewing of The Humans at the Laura Pels Theatre.
A bottle episode is one that has little to no set changes, and usually only includes primary characters of the show. These type of episodes exist because they are very cheap to produce and can work out when writers are in a pinch and need to write an episode really quickly. However, the simplicity of a bottle episode doesn’t necessarily undermine the depth that an episode can have. One of my favorite television shows Community made a playful spin on the “bottle episode” by including a hilarious whodunnit after someone stole one of the character’s pens in the library. The entire episode was shot inside the iconic study room of the show, and the episode was just as hilarious as any other. The characters drive the story forward in these situations, and that’s what makes such episodes so special.
The Blake family certainly drove the story in the one set production The Humans. The broad setting of a family celebrating Thanksgiving in a New York City apartment building provided a simple canvas for which the characters would paint their emotional colors on. The characters were raw in emotion, and defied the stereotypical extraordinary and glorified protagonists seen in other works such as this. The organic exchanges among this fictional family felt very real, and made the audience seem like a voyeuristic group snooping on a family’s personal gathering. I’m sure everyone in the audience could relate with one of the characters one way or another. The play confronts very real problems with society today, touching upon situations such as same-sex relations, dementia, infidelity; these are often taboo topics not usually expressed in a play or television show.
I really admired the mother of the Blake family, Deirdre. It seemed like all of her problems were rooted from other members of the family. She was teased and made fun of by her daughters and has to deal with the fact that her husband has had relations with another woman. Despite all of the pain her family puts her through she still has the strength to overlook these wrongs and love her family the same way. She is a truly compassionate woman, as evident by her volunteer work and dedication to taking care of her mother-in-law. She truly understands the strength and purpose of family, and reminded me how powerful a mother can be.
The Humans truly lived up to its title, and involved human characters with plenty of flaws. There wasn’t a happy ending to the story, but that’s okay. In fact, if the story ended with all conflicts resolved, it would have defeated the purpose of the play. Being human is a never-ending series of unfortunate events, and it’s important to appreciate the finer things in our lives such as family instead of dwelling on all that’s wrong with the world.
I agree that the ending to this performance appropriately brought together all of the scenes portrayed, and that the moral of the presentation was to display that humans are not perfect. Throughout the play, I similarly recognized that the characters did show us the significant issues our society faces in the modern day, bringing up topics that many directors prefer to avoid to always show a “happy scenario” and a “fairytale ending”. Instead of ignoring the existence of these pertinent issues, this play taught us to acknowledge these problems, work towards solving them, and remember to, as you stated, “…appreciate the finer things in our lives…” Interestingly, you focused on the mother figure of the family, while I directed my attention to the father. As I look back, I also recognize that Deirdre did have remarkable traits, bringing laughter to the family (and therefore to the audience) while, personally, battling a life filled with mishaps behind the scenes. I believe that her character showed a key aspect to being human, one in which we hide our emotions from fellow family members to ensure that our loved ones do not have to bear our burdens. Although I have not heard of the term “bottle episode” before, I agree that this concept applies to the performance we attended, to its visual simplicity yet complex meaning. Lastly, I also think that it was pleasant, for once, to watch a story unfold without touching upon stereotypes; rather, the audience had the chance to witness a family situation that felt real and was relatable.