If you see Censorship of Dreams and aren’t creeped out to the point of near-nausea by this dystopian nightmare play’s conclusion, you just weren’t paying attention.
La MaMa Ellen Stewart Theatre is Transformed
You enter the theater in the dark, climbing to find your seat in one of the few rows on three sides of what first looks like a boxing ring adorned by ribbons. It’s hectic, even with guides telling you where and where not to step.
As we sit, we begin to focus of one of the actors walking ever so slow around the interior of the cell. A woman is inside this cell too. Turning our heads we see that this performance space is actually quite large, but instead of the built-in seating being used for us, the audience, we see a man in the shadows midway up the rake of the audience seating. He is hunkered over some sort of machine, and barely visible in a small light from the machine. Another body is in the darkness too— a woman we can barely make out. Later we realize that in lieu of us, the audience seating is filled with row upon row of shoes.
Your AI Fever Dream on Steroids
Playwright Nora Sørena Casey has dreamt this dystopian fever dream so we don’t have to. Indeed, it’s hard enough living in this world for the 90-minutes no intermission of the performance. We know the world behind what looks like celluloid prison bars is no picnic, but it takes about ten minutes of dialogue for what we are actually looking at to become crystal clear.
It ain’t pretty…
It’s a near future dystopian time when some unnamed somebodies have taken control of what’s left of the world to give it a restart. That the once blue sky is now brown— or tan on a good day maybe— is a vestige of the world’s ruin, and the backstory of why the restart was allegedly needed. All those human drives— to consume, to exploit fossil fuels, and to get to the top— are to be a thing of the past. The mechanism of the change involves the all-hearing machine who notes your language as a key to your mind, experience and those aforementioned drives. Every day you must eat your words (Spoiler Alert!) quite literally.
Words are an endangered species. The man who we first meet walking in circles still has many of them— words. His wife— or is she his wife?— has fewer, but certainly knows the ubiquitous greeting for any and all—and especially those in authority—ever chirping anxiously I love you.
Though words are valuable, it’s dreams that are the new petrodollars in this dystopian tomorrow. In the microcosm of this corner in the near future world, all the action pivots around the value of dreams, and who gets to set their value.
The four actors, the superb stagecraft, and the direction is so expert in their performance that they make this improbable and puzzling universe seem more than real. Then again, they are helped considerably by the daily dose of dystopian headlines as the US sinks into authoritarian rhythms.
Pray, do not tell Peter Thiel or Alex Karp about Casey’s dream. Wait at least until Palantir has transplanted to Mars, please.
Censorship of Dreams is a top pick for anyone who obsesses about AI and fears it as the stuff of end times. For the rest of us, this is a thought provoking work that will likely cling to our imaginations for quite some time.
You too might find yourself after the play with strange stirrings of desires to stream Mary Poppins on rewind.
Recommended
CAST:
Chris Jaymes: Narrator, Jes Dugger: Ellie, Bryce Michael Wood: Thomas, Kat Warnusz-Steckel: Professional.
CREATIVE TEAM:
Nora Sørena Casey: Playwright, Arthur Makaryan: Director/Co-Producer, Christopher Annas-Lee: Scenic & Lighting Design, Emily White: Costume Design, Audrey Chou: Sound Design, Samir Nikocevic: Co-Producer.
WHEN:
May 1 – 17, 2026
WHERE:
66 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
TICKETS:
$10+
For more information and tickets visit the La Mama website.
Photos by Steven Pisano. and Photos by Marina Levitskaya
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About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
Thank you for this review! Going to see the show tonight based on your recommendation!