A dark comedy about those who are the last of their kind premieres at the Old Greeny Fringe Festival, a week-long, fringe festival in celebration of the weird, wacky, and whimsical, rooted in the legend of Old Greeny—the cryptid of Cayuga Lake.
Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) is an original work written by Jorin Clougherty (he/they) and centers on a liminal stage full of the final members of extinct species. In a strange afterlife between our world and the next, these last of their kind meet, argue, and confront the loneliness of being the end of their lineage. Part philosophical fable and part dark comedy, the play asks what responsibility the living have to the web of life that connects every creature on Earth.
Guided by a mischievous water witch, these unlikely companions wrestle with grief, death, change, and the strange possibility that, even in death, we are not truly alone.
“This show is especially timely,” said Rebecca Rivera (they/she), Director, “Considering how war, federal legislation, disinformation, and the rapid development of technologies have further exacerbated environmental challenges.” They emphasized that LUCA is a story of hope, a tale of the inextricable link between community and progress.
Blending humor, poetry, and audience participation, the production embodies the spirit of Fringe performance: experimental, imaginative, and deeply rooted, with an extra flare of political salience.
Audiences can expect an evening that is strange, heartfelt, and thought-provoking, where extinct creatures debate philosophy, ghosts tell jokes, and the audience itself sends a breeze across the boundary between the living and the dead.
April 29 – 6:00 p.m. – Greenstar Pavilion
May 1 – 2:30 p.m. – Rosie’s Cafe & Parlor
May 1 – 5:30 p.m. – The Jewel Box Pavilion
Reserve your free tickets and learn more about the Old Greeny Fringe Fest at oldgreenyfringefest.com.
