The dramatic events and fate of both Arie and Nanny Ann could certainly be explored further and in a more confronting way. The final act of the play is certainly chaotic, but it also contains some deeply emotional themes and reflections which I would have liked to see the story lean into more. The rest of the cast supports the comedic vibes and cements us in this robot-integrated world well with various types of robot cameos, from house movers to security guards. Murdoch Keane is delightful as Sam and has lots of playful and funny moments, particularly with their favourite mother figure Nanny Ann. She commands attention and garnered huge laughs from her mushroom-fulled Frankenstein-esque inception. The second half brings another bot into the forefront and what a show stopper she is! Played by Bronwyn Bradley, Nanny Ann is a playful raunchy life-loving pantomime dame who ends up teaching her creator how to live to the fullest. She too goes through a metamorphosis throughout the play and, through her work with machines, ends up as a better human being by the final curtain. Photo credit: Jinki CambroneroĪlison Bruce as Alice is excellent and it was great to see the trials of a middle-aged woman played out authentically with heart and humour. Her journey is also one of human cruelty and holds a mirror up to how we are willing to treat others when it’s to benefit our own means. The Arie that Hannah has created helped us to see why Alice was so addicted to trying to progress robot technology. I really couldn’t take my eyes off her when she was on stage as she ingeniously imitated a life-like humanoid who’s rather one-dimensional, relentlessly happy and intimidatingly beautiful. Photo credit: Jinki CambroneroĪrie is played expertly and precisely by Hannah Tasker-Poland who is also the play’s movement director, and with good reason. It’s a snapshot of your usual messed-up family life, except the infidelity is far more bionic. The first half of the play focuses on Arie and how she fits into Alice’s life with her ex-husband David and grownup child Sam. She spirals into reflecting on her life as a mother to uni drop out and drug dealer Sam, the death of her mother, the use of machines to do what humans were born to, and the ethics around artificial intelligence. When Alice and her research assistant fail to win funding from tech corporate Athos to develop Arie further, Alice is forced to confront some home truths. Set in a near-future world where service robots are the norm, middle-aged roboticist Alice has created a cyborg called Arie (a former sex bot) with the potential to become sentient. There are innuendos, horny robots, hot flushes, comedy shenanigans and magic mushrooms – what could possibly go wrong? The Made, written by Emily Perkins ( The Forrests, Novel About My Wife), debuted at Auckland’s ASB Waterfront Theatre last night with its refreshing take on the classic Frankenstein tale.
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