"The Last Word" brings science alive

The love between a mother and son and a final chance for creative self-expression turn the process of dying into something profoundly beautiful in The Last Word. Staged as part of the Science in Theater Festival (SIT), the play is based on the latest breakthroughs in cell engineering. 

A famous writer (Megan Metrikin), who once touched the hearts of many, is now silent, as she struggles with cancer and leaves her last book unfinished. But for her son Frank  (Dylan Lesch), she remains a source of true love and inspiration. In an attempt to extend his mother’s life, Frank starts dating a young researcher named Ayse (Hana Fatima Dehradunwala). 

Ayse works on “biological robots,” known as “xenobots" that could hold the key to beating cancer. Frank persuades Ayse, who is also grieving the loss of her own father, to experiment on his mother and create anthrobots from human cells. 

Written by Fareeda Pasha and directed by Tjasa Ferme, SIT’s founder, The Last Word is not just the product of creative imagination, but is grounded in scientific reality. 

Made from the skin and heart muscle cells of the African frog Xenopus laevis, xenobots are real. These organisms are created by shaping clusters of cells into tiny artificial forms. Anthrobots are the next frontier in biomedical engineering. Made of human cells, these entities are capable of moving independently and even healing damaged tissue.  

After the performance, Michael Levin, a synthetic biologist at Tufts University and the author of cutting-edge studies of xenobots and anthrobots, gave a presentation. He believes that unlocking the potential of our cells could allow us to cure cancer, birth defects and aging, even regrowing limbs. 

According to Levin, every layer, tissue, and cell of our body could solve our health problems if we “communicate” effectively. The Last Word explores the various questions raised by this concept, on philosophical, scientific and creative levels in a dramatic format.

What if, as individual organisms, we are a collective intelligence existing in unity with the universe and others? What if our fear of death, rooted in the belief that we are a lone actor on the stage of our life, doesn’t make sense? These, at least, are questions that the characters, and audience, of The Last Word may ponder.

In The Last Word, three characters, howeve, even better than simply asking questions, seem to know the answer. They manage to connect with each other and find togetherness, even with the inevitability of death hanging over them.  

For Ayse, who is balancing between the euphoria of discovery and the depths of isolation in the lab, this new connection offers a new sense of meaning she didn’t expect to find. 

For Frank, a musician, it brings inspiration, hope, and the promise of new love beyond his mother’s affection. 

For the writer, it offers a brief return of her creative voice and new “last words” to express her truth. 

In a time when many are still struggling with the loss of loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Last Word explores the idea of final creative opportunity. 

What if the artists who have gone before their time — whether by their own hand or illness — had one more chance? What would they write or create if they had one more piece to make, one last expression of their talent? 

Would their new work and ideas offer more meaning and insights we’ve longed for? It’s possible that our collective consciousness is yearning for these lost masterpieces, waiting for the art that was never completed. 

The Last Word itself concludes with an open ending, leaving the stage set for a second act. 

You can catch the play this summer at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, with the possibility of future performances on New York stages beyond SIT.