It's not novel to observe that we live in a time of slop, culturally speaking. It feels simultaneously easier than ever to put "content" out in the world and harder than ever to be a working artist, as economic pressure increases the need to sell something, snuffing out creative expression. Try and list the creative touchtones from this era that we'll be able to look back on without wincing. "Love Island U.S.A."? "Brat"? "The Odyssey"? Whatever it is that Andrew Huberman does on his podcast?
The antidote for that feeling—hopelessness about the state of art right now—is to go out and see something good. This week, that thing could be "Bathers," a new play by 27-year-old writer/director Charlie Rinehart-Jones about a group of New Yorkers in their late 20s enjoying what's supposed to be a leisurely summer day at someone's parents' lakeside home.