Overview
- Word for Word and Z Space opened Absolutely Science Fiction! at Z Below, which premiered on Saturday, June 27, and runs through July 19 with tickets priced at $50 to $75.
- The program pairs Ray Bradbury’s “The Veldt” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Big Space F—” in an 80‑minute double bill presented without changes to the original texts.
- A five‑actor ensemble under director Delia MacDougall performs rapid role and costume changes to carry narration and dialogue across both stories, with performers including Joel Mullennix, Nicole Odell, Hannah Mae Sturges, Christian Jimenez and Ryan Tasker.
- Design elements drive the staging: Kate Boyd’s set, Ray Oppenheimer’s projections, Nolan Miranda’s costumes, Jim Cave’s lighting and Cliff Caruthers’ sound create fast scene shifts and mood, though one reviewer said the sound design could have been more emphatic.
- Critics praised the production’s pacing and theatrical craft and said the two mid‑20th‑century tales feel eerily relevant today because they highlight modern worries about automation, virtual reality, digital surveillance and environmental collapse.