In addition to previous comments, I love this play's overwhelming, intricate and powerful use of language. The potential for no available translations for the audience in a multilingual play, as is the playwright's preferred production method, creates the possibility to feel like a stranger in a strange land across multiple dimensions. As Lam states in his notes about translated text, "Being uncomfortable by people in power speaking a language you don't understand is part of the point." Last Ship thereby reconstructs the way we even perceive hierarchy, allowing most audiences to feel as upside-down as the characters we first meet.

Previous comments have focused on the implied critique of American imperialism and white supremacy that doubtless forms an essential element in Greg Lam's powerful vision of apocalypse. However, the Chinese-speaking community now ascendant on Proxima Centauri is morally no superior or even different, as exemplified by the vicious Pax who kills two of the white Americans whose misfortune is to arrive at the outpost 165 years late. Only the complacent Japanese-American Henry is allowed to survive from the newcomers, but there's something heroic in Addie Russell's unwavering devotion to American ideals in the face of imminent death.

To call this play “thought provoking” would be a spectacular understatement. (Apologies if you did.) I saw the exquisite production at Portland Stage (online). Lam raises important questions about power and race, taking no prisoners. The civilization that evolved over 165 years without white people is no egalitarian paradise. They have a long memory for racism, yet embrace draconian authority. A dystopia would be a blessing on this planet. While it is funny, all thrusters burn brightest during moments of high conflict, when characters are negotiating for a landing or their lives. A sharp satire and searing indictment!