Presented by ArtsEmerson
Composed, Written, & Performed by: Ahamefule J. Oluo 
Produced by Roya Amirsoleymani
Lighting Design Lily McLeodmed by Ahamefule J. Oluo

Robert J. Orchard Stage
Emerson Paramount Center
559 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
February 20-22, 2026

Runtime: 90 minutes, no intermission

Article by Diana Lu

BOSTON – There are theater experiences that entertain you for a couple of hours and then fade pleasantly into memory. And then there are performances that quietly rearrange your understanding of what art can do, what intimacy means. 

The Things Around Us, written and performed by Ahamefule J. Oluo, accomplishes something rare in contemporary solo performance. It creates profound intimacy without confession. The connection between artist and audience forged over the course of the evening does not arise from autobiographical revelation or narrative excavation, but from structure itself.  Continue reading →