What came first? The rhetorical question lies at the core of “Sequence” by the Canadian playwright Arun Lakra. Performed from Dec. 3-6 in Arena Theater, the North Lake Theater Company kept the audience on the edge of their seats throughout a play that examines luck and God through religion, science, probability, human vulnerability and fate.
“Sequence” is an 81-minute play without intermission, directed by Lin Roberts and assistant director Vermont Horner. The staging intertwined two parallel stories like a DNA double helix and questioned the order in which events appear.
“Sequence” is a philosophical work that engages with existentialist themes. Through its alternating narratives, the play uses a scientific framework to explore core existential questions like, “Which came first, The chicken or the egg?” What determines success? How to change your luck? The characters repeatedly confront situations that force them to question their responsibility for reshaping their fate in a world where logic, mathematics and God are arguments that build and justify human choice.
In the play, Mr. Adamson (Bodhi Byrne) believes that God makes everything happen for a reason, while Dr. Guzman (Zini Canas) advocates that order is everything. She believes that a sequence of genes creates a human being. Therefore, science is an absolute. On which side is the truth? The responsibility and consequence of both choices belong to them.
Cythia (Alyssa Hicks) does not believe in luck. She confronted Theo (Xavier O’Besso, understudy Sam Nuckolls), who boasts of being the luckiest man for having achieved legendary status for accurately predicting the outcome of the Super Bowl coin toss 20 consecutive times. Her questions force Teo to admit luck may not be a random choice.
The actors demonstrated mastery and professionalism through a well-paced dialogue that kept the energy high despite the play’s dense themes and length. A minimalistic staging proved effective, placing attention squarely on the actors and the play’s ideas. The direction emphasized strategic light contrasting between each storyline, while maintaining the flow of the theme.
Two major events by North Lake Theater Company are scheduled for 2026. “Circle Mirror Transportation,” directed by Mac Lower, will be performed on March 11-14, with “The Cool Kids Musical” on stage April 29-May 2, both in the North Lake Performance Hall. Stay tuned!
