Specimen (2026)

Writer/director: Randall Sharp
Axis Theatre Company
(Off-off broadway)^[1]
75 minutes
Running May 6 - June 6, 2026

This was a high-energy, chaotic, weird play. It's about a crew on a space ship that receives an unexpected visitor and they are unsure if it's a creature or a human. It had an intricate set design and it's a small theatre so I was second row, close up to the action.

I liked it enough that I shared it out on my Instagram story, which I basically never do! But I felt like the show needed some love, and it was an entertaining 75 minutes.

Other notes:

• Apparently Randall Sharp (founder of Axis Theatre Company and writer/director of this show) also runs a cooking channel called "dinner party tonight".
• The theatre (1 Sheridan Square) has a lot of history: https://axiscompany.org/history.php
  • Another note on the theatre. Most theaters^[2] I've been to are a common space that can host different production companies. But this seems to be a permanent space for the Axis Theatre Company. So it's generally the same artistic team doing these shows, or at least the same director (Randy Sharp). Not sure if the cast is consistent show to show or if it's new people each show. I would guess there's some overlap and some rotation. It's cool they're able to have a permanent space. I assume this means they have a very stable/consistent source of funding.

Spoiler time

for the small risk that someone is reading this and then goes to see it.

random notes

• What is up with S.U.P. ??? Still will be contemplating this. The characters didn't really know what it was -- both unclear what it's for and unclear on its effectiveness (but I like this, it adds to the weirdness^[3]). Also that one scene... basically drowning the creature in the stuff.. That was the peak of their madness and denial and chaos.
• My biggest sense at the end in terms of themes/meaning was one of denial. They began with one conviction/idea and then stuck with it even when there was evidence against it. Their motivations (of earning money by selling the "creature" back on earth) were so strong that they were blinded to the truth.
• Also about the ending, I kind of felt like the direction it goes is to imply that they may be bringing the contagious brain disease to earth. It's not clearcut though (as with many other aspects of the show). And I think that's another fine thing to be ambiguous about. Makes me think.
• Jumpscares. It wasn't really the kind of show that would obviously be jumpscare-y. I'd say it's a scifi thriller, not horror at all. But there were tense scenes where things would be kind of quiet and then all of a sudden someone would say or do something really loudly, breaking the tension, and I would startle/flinch in my seat. Shows how focused and tuned in I was to the scenes. I liked this aspect of the experience. I assume it was intended.
• upon entering the theatre, there's some recordings playing out on the set on the monitors. We don't learn this until the show starts, but the gimmick is that the computers are malfunctioning and playing spaceship orientation videos and some random video diaries from crew members, and it's almost kind of annoying to be sitting there and watching them because they are looping. And then the show starts and we see that it's also annoying to the characters. So this was kind of immersive. It was also a recurring aspect throughout the show.