LOVE+ – Project Arts Centre – Reivew

Until June 2016 8.15pm

They are an unusual couple. One of them seems to be perfect and the other is anything but. One does all the chores while the other seems happy to sit and watch. One is always waiting at home with a kind word to say, the other comes home whenever she pleases and is never sure what to say. The main difference between these two though is that one of them is human and the other is something else! This is a love story between a human and an android, a robot who appears to be human in all ways other than those that really matter.

This play has two characters, both female with one playing the owner and the other the robot. There is no explanation of where the robot came from, or even how unusual she is. There is no introduction to the characters and the audience is left to figure out the roles that each of them play. The setting seems to be a time close to our own, with a number of cultural references being the movies and music of our time. The lack of information only serves to draw the viewer in to try and make sense of their surroundings.

There are a number of interludes which also deal with similar topics. At times the actors mime along to a voice track, discussing the robot laws or voicing a conversation between two chat-bots. These segments break up the flow of the narrative and allow the play to move in a variety of different directions.

This play was originally part of the Fringe Festival last year, where it won the Spirit of Fringe/Spirit of Project Award. The play focuses on whether it is possible to love a perfectly crafted machine that can ostensibly give you anything you want from a relationship. The performances are impressive, with Breffni Holahan particularly catching the eye as the emotionless android. This topic is well travelled ground with films such as Ex Machina, Her and the many that went before it. It does manage to capture a different aspect of the debate and leaves you questioning what it is we want from Love.

Directed by Claire O’Reilly

Devised by Breffni Holahan, Maeve O’Mahony, Dylan Coburn Gray, Claire O’Reilly

Set, Poster, Costume Design by Molly O’Cathain

Lighting Design by John Gunning

Sound and Projection Design by Daire O’Cairbre

Producer: Carla Rogers

Production Manager: Cillian McNamara