Hunter Gatherers/Boom

Hunter Gatherers, Oct. 29-Nov. 22, $25-$30, Theatre Exile at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-218-4022, theatreexile.org; boom, Oct. 28-Nov. 21, $15-$18, Flashpoint Theatre Co. at Second Stage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-665-9720, flashpointtheatre.org.

by Mark Cofta

Through "magical coincidence," two of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's plays will run concurrently at the Adrienne: Hunter Gatherers (Theatre Exile) downstairs, and boom (Flashpoint Theatre Co.) upstairs. "While I think apocalyptic themes are always of interest," Nachtrieb says about boom's marine biologist-journalist liaison that goes horribly, hilariously wrong, "I'm wondering if the subject of 'our place in the world and surviving in the face of great calamities' is somehow of more interest right now." Similarly dark and funny, Hunter Gatherers' two couples are torn apart by their baser instincts. The San Francisco-based playwright calls these his biology plays: "Hunter Gatherers is very much about 'humans as animals,' and boom is about the story of evolution and our place in the grand, epic story of life on the planet," he says. "I recommend a drink before Hunter Gatherers, and then one after boom."