DIAMONDS IN THE
ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE
WORLD OF TECH

An inventive immersive experience
turns startup culture into an
office you may not want to leave

Starting a new job can be stressful, but luckily for audiences at The Whole Sky All Diamonds, most of the work will be done by the “real” employees in the cast. You’ll be greeted with a badge as you’re onboarded to Füfl, a tech startup with a mission to “replace words with images.” You can customize your new employee badge with markers and stickers, then grab a snack and be welcomed by the charismatic (if a little aloof) CEO.

This delve into the tech startup world comes from writer Bixby Elliot (former Google employee turned playwright) and veteran creatives of Sleep No More and The Death of Rasputin. Directed by Jack Dentinger, Diamonds follows a similar structure, with an open space for audiences to explore while the cast improvises with them and performs prewritten scenes in the various interconnected spaces and rooms.

A large central shared office room designed by Olivia Vaughn Hern is where most of our action takes place, complete with a snack bar, napping pods, walking pad-style treadmills, and all the hallmarks of a kooky startup environment.

Other spaces for us to explore include a side hallway containing glass-walled offices, where our head-in-the-clouds (pun intended) CEO holds court. There’s another space with more glass-pod-style offices, plus a sparkling speakeasy with tassels and tonics to enjoy.

As with many other immersive theater shows, it’s almost impossible to see all the play’s written scenes in one viewing. Scenes happen simultaneously at opposite ends of the room, and sometimes in completely different rooms. The Whole Sky All Diamonds does the immersive experience well, given its pedigree—as long as you buy into the concept, which means you’ll have a different outing should you return. Some theatergoers will enjoy hunting through the space for scenes, looking for Chekhovian Easter Eggs; if you suffer from FOMO, you may not.

Said experience is provided by our terrific cast, including Adam Griffith as Mickey, a dashingly handsome and engaging CEO who is always ready to drop platitudes of self-growth and aspiration or lead a wellness exercise in his office. Zoë Laiz plays Jumee, a dutiful worker bee for Füfl who has a “work husband”-flavored camaraderie with Jake Ryan Lozano’s Forrest. Lucy York Struever is a workaholic Dara who’s yet to discover the power of naps. Aigner Mizzelle is Elena, a new hire who is a little skeptical of Füfl’s mission and has also caught the amorous attention of Mickey. Eric Wiegand’s Far is our Steve Wozniak, in that he’s the real brains behind Füfl’s technology—the inventor, even—but woefully uncharismatic and without the leadership qualities necessary to sell a startup business.

Video and installations by Geoff Bailey color the space and create a moody atmosphere when pensive and dramatic moments arrive. Lights dim for an array of projections when the story reaches its conclusion.

Overall, The Whole Sky All Diamonds is a well-executed immersive theater experience, providing thoughtful commentary on technology’s role in society, its impacts on human interaction, and millennial office politics. Come for the parody of startup culture, stay for the snacks, and good luck at your new gig.

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photos by Vala Kodish

The Whole Sky All Diamonds
Loft Story, 748 Manhattan Ave. in Brooklyn
Tue.–Sat. 7:30
ends on August 22, 2026
for tickets ($85), visit The Whole Sky All Diamonds
(Subway: L to Lorimer St.; G to Nassau Ave)

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