David Greig’s THE EVENTS

In 2015 while at the theatre, I twice caught wind of the bonobo. That is to say, two different plays, each from a contemporary playwright, mentioned this pacific chimpanzee-like species that resides in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Both references seemed intended to shame the audience. We were supposed to feel dismayed, even chastised, by the realization that a rival species, this hippie or left-bank ape, as bonobos are called, is our non-violent moral better. The first bonobo mention was in David Greig’s THE EVENTS (performance on 3/6/15 at New York Theatre Workshop).

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