Disruption review – anti-AI thriller boasts knockout cast but tech commentary needs an update

Pershing Square Signature Center, New York

John David Washington leads an exceptionally talented cast in a sleek off-Broadway thriller that feels a little dated

Making its US debut three years after its London premiere, Andrew Stein’s Disruption faces the typical battle of the topical play: even with the most expedient fast-track to production, works tackling current events are in danger of obsolescence upon arrival, often left at the mercy of the latest update, for better or worse. As far as plays dealing with AI go, New York got Ayad Akhtar’s , by news of star Robert Downey Jr’s $100m Avengers payday. And earlier this year, the tech-industry moral quandary of Matthew Libby’s Data received bone-chilling boosts from , any insights it offers about our present moment are either naively outdated or mired in its overcomplicated web of characters. Charitably, one could chalk this up to the three years lapsed since its premiere; 30 lifetimes in cyberland. But lines like “Data’s the next frontier,” or “Technology has made us so connected to everything except ourselves,” would not have stood a chance in 2010.