Wow. I am going to put this front and centre: if you love seeing high-quality acting and theatre, go and see ‘Your Name Means Dream’ at Red Stitch Actors Theatre. What a phenomenal play and performances by two outstanding actors.
This brilliantly written play by the highly acclaimed Oscar nominee and Obie Award-winning playwright José Rivera (famous for ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’) has hit the shores of Australia for the first time at Red Stitch Theatre in Melbourne.
The cast of two give stellar performances, which should not be a surprise with their extensive backgrounds on both screen and stage. Caroline Lee takes on the role of ‘Aislin,’ a disgruntled widow in her mid-sixties who lives alone in her run-down apartment in New York in the not-so-distant future. Lucy Ansell plays the role of ‘Stacy,’ an advanced robot sent by Aislin’s son, Roberto, to be Aislin’s live-in caregiver and companion.
The play opens with the first meeting of the two characters. Aislin, having settled into a dreary and solitary life after the death of her husband and estrangement from her son, shows resistance to this new form of caregiver sent by her son, Roberto.
Stacy is programmed to assist Aislin in living as long and healthy a life as possible while learning from Aislin along the way. She also yearns to learn as much as she can about humanity from Aislin, wanting to get as close as she can to that point within the limits of being a robot.
You will walk away from this play contemplating themes including the future of technology with artificial intelligence and machine learning, family, relationships, what it means to be human, health, loneliness, quality of life, death, and grief. All of that in the space of a couple of hours. What a journey!
There is so much lovely comedy intertwined within the dialogue of this play. Caroline and Lucy really carried these comedic moments, having the audience switch from laughter to tears and back again in the blink of an eye.
It was an absolute joy to watch these two actors work together. Caroline and Lucy both portrayed their characters with so much depth, nuance, and humanity—yes, even the robot! The accents were flawless, and subtle characterisations were well-engrained into each character. Lucy’s quick switches between Stacy the robot and Roberto were mesmerising to watch.
The staging was perfect for what this play needed. A nice, simple set was more than enough to still have the audience buy into the world of Aislin and Stacy, with the entire play taking place in the living room of Aislin’s very drab and dilapidated apartment. This really is a play not to be missed.
Your Name Means Dream is on at the Red Stitch Actors Theatre from October 26 to November 24. Tickets may be purchased @ https://www.redstitch.net/your-name-means-dream-2024
Photographer: James Reiser
