“I want to kill myself,” says a woman living in a future in which humans are implanted with immortality chips. So begins Daniel Bainbridge and Cam Scriven’s slick and highly entertaining dark comedy about the pros and cons of living for ever.
The year is 2556, Zara (Annie Davison) is more than 500 years old and desperate to opt out of eternal existence. The opening scene, which finds her arguing with the company that planted her chip, has some great riffs on automated customer-service phone lines. “We’re sorry to see you go,” says the computerised voice, but tells her she must have 12 months of therapy before she can end her life.
The drama revolves around these sessions with robot therapist, Alex (Olivia Barrowclough) – an android Alexa of sorts – and a romance with the dorky but lovable Joe (Sam Newton), who tries to give her reasons for living on.
Sleeky directed by Marlie Haco, there are so many things to admire, from Justin Nardella’s clean, sophisticated staging to the choreography and visual elements, which have a passing retro-futuristic resemblance to Mork & Mindy. The three actors give thoroughly winning performances too and the 60-minute show has remarkably high production values.
But the potential for real brilliance is not quite realised. Zara’s dilemma could be a metaphor for suicidal depression, with metaphysical questions on mortality, purpose and humanness thrown in. It is delivered in a refreshingly upbeat way, but not always deep enough. Bainbridge and Scriven’s script is a mix of kooky romcom and futuristic fantasy, filled with moreish dialogue and cute comic quips. But while the characters are always engaging they are not entirely consistent, nor whole. Alex’s growing sense of humanness is well evoked but Zara’s desire to help the android live on does not feel in keeping with her character. Meanwhile, Joe brings a lovely lovestruck silliness to the play but seems like an add-on to the story, for plot purposes.
All of it is a few beats away from landing with the force of its immense potential. But the creative talent here is clear to see across the board and should be followed.
At Vault festival, Network theatre, until 12 March
