Fun Harmless Warmachine presented by The New Coordinates at The Den Theatre

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The cast rarely overplays scenes that invite emotional indulgence, making for a taut, engaging 100 minutes. As Tom, Daniel Chenard is charming, vulnerable, and witlessly unprincipled, a perfect destructive foil for open-hearted girlfriend Ekaterina, played to harrowing perfection by Ayanna Bria Bakari. Except for the implausible and unnecessary final scene, this New Colony premiere plumbs very unsettling depths."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...The creative folks at The New Colony are once again exploring a subject matter that they seem to be particularly drawn to — the world of video gaming. In 2016, this very same company presented the world premiere of “Merge,” which dealt with the people involved in the creation of and travails involved in incorporating what ended up becoming the Atari company in the late 1970’s, and its eventual downfall. Their latest world premiere (New Colony’s 31st) is “Fun Harmless Warmachine,” written by the new Co-Artistic Director Fin Coe, which is a much more polished and decidedly darker and rewarding work."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Fun Harmless Warmachine, written by New Colony Co-Artistic Director Fin Coe, is a riveting, disturbing glimpse into a world most of us don’t know and wouldn’t understand if we did. It is easy to vilify the alt-Right, and they generally deserve it; this play indicates that they are willing to use and gaslight even their own. The frightening part of this play is the simple fact that the monster it depicts is real and is made up of human beings who have convinced themselves that others are out to get them, which gives them the right to pre-emptive strikes."

Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...The comic relief of this dark techno-thriller comes primarily however from Laura Sturm. In one hilarious moment, she plays an avatar of a gamer that has barely played before, and fumbles around the stage moving in circles and shooting into the air. Despite what this audience member perceived as some pacing issues, these actresses hold the course."

NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...In theory, it’s a good idea for a play. In practice, the intention of the piece gets lost. In showing the protagonist’s thought process and experience, the audience is asked to empathize with the worst sort of man; the kind of man who empowers his cronies to make the lives of others a living hell. In asking us to empathize with him, we are asked to forgive him. And in a world where abusive men hold the highest positions of power in government and are working to make the lives of folks who are not like them a living hell from a federal level, that forgiveness is nigh-impossible to muster."