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I Can See You, I Can Hear You – But You Are Not Real

26/04/2026 Virginia Gray🥉

Anthropology by Lauren Gunderson Rating

★★★★★

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What happens when AI and humans combine, who/what is controlling the other.

Anthropology is an ancient science that investigates human diversity, evolution, and social life to understand the “big picture” of what it means to be human.

While theoretical foundations and ideas regarding “thinking machines” existed earlier, the term “Artificial Intelligence” was coined and adopted during a workshop at Dartmouth College in the summer of 1956.

Lauren Gunderson’s Anthropology first premiered September 2023 in Hampstead, England. The American Playwright has a string of popular plays doing the rounds including comedies The Book of Will and The Revolutionists. This however is not a comedy.

When we think of AI we are all familiar with the imagery we can create, and chatbots that interact with us (some even make sense). We watch CSI and Bones; we marvel at the technology they expose us to.

But what about creating a program to mimic loved ones so you can still talk to them and they talk back. Even when they are gone.

This is a play about a tech genius, a missing presumed dead sister, an ex-girlfriend and an emotionally absent mother. It is full of twists and turns, teetering on the brink of despair and then a landslide back to reality.

Firstly, let me say the set was tremendous and deserves the Matilda this year – designed by Freddy Komp who also brought the computer screens to life. The surreal set had a large corner desk with “working screens” and a functional living room space. The giant screen that seemed to dominate over the room played an important role in bringing the character Angie to life. Simple entrances via the black curtains at the side allowed the actors to enter and exit as if a doorway did exist.

Caroline Sparrow played the tech savvy older sister Merril, of missing teen Angie played by Rose Traynor-Boyland. A tense, distraught character whose grip on reality was slipping. Caroline was able to make this character both vulnerable and strong. The interaction between the onscreen Angie and the distraught Merril was heartbreaking to watch. Angie taunted Merril playing on her emotions while presenting as an AI Chatbot. The switching of characterizations by Rose was seamless. The ex-girlfriend, Raquel played by Vivien Whittle was a perfect choice as the warm voice of reason and human touch to ease Merril away from technology and back to a type of normality and this interplay also gave the audience a break from the tension. Sherri Smith, as the mother gave a believable version of an erratic reformed addict who was emotionally unstable.

The director Nicky Whichelow has brought together an excellent cast and certainly created an excellent piece of theatre. The production was slick, with a marvellous set that complemented the talented cast.

The crew of Zoe Power- sound, Geoff Squires- lights and Hazel Evans as SM, are also to be congratulated for the behind scenes work that helped give this show polish.

While this drama/mystery will appeal to a wide audience if you are a fan of any of the American Missing person/Crime TV shows you will certainly appreciate this work of live theatre.

Running at PIP Theatre, Milton until 2nd May, tickets https://piptheatre.org/2026-anthropology

To book tickets to Anthropology by Lauren Gunderson, please visit https://piptheatre.org/2026-anthropology/.

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Mara

26/04/2026 Liv Carlisle🆕

Mara Rating

★★★★★

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Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of the newest production at Theatre Works. ‘Mara’ is a triumph of re-imagining, cleverly talking and twisting is audience through the story of Cinderella, from the perspective of the so called evil step-mother.

Upon entry to the theatre, audience members are greeted by low lighting and haunting live music (courtesy of Asia Reynolds) that instantly sets the tone for the show to follow: a tactile exploration of words and visuals that transports you into the inner mind of a woman very much on the edge.

It would be remiss to review this show without applauding the massive efforts of actress Aurora Kurth. Aurora steps on the stage and does not simply act, she becomes. Babe, daughter, mother, lover, maid, footman, friend, martyr, baddie and even daddy. She becomes all of them right in front of your eyes, through accent, tone and physicality, talking and singing her way through rhythmic lines filled with repetition, onomatopoeias, metaphors and double entendres (“You have put a step between us” made me literally gasp out loud, I apologise to the gentleman sitting next to me).

The other standout moments of the show were the visuals and soundscape. On a beautiful designed set with carousel horses and doll houses (thank you Jacques Cooney Adlard), every choice felt incredibly deliberate from the colours of Mara’s dresses to the clinking of her teacups. All choices designed to surround the audience and draw them into the mindset of Mara, a woman desperately trying to bring security into her world, against all odds.

And yet, this show does not shy away from the more brutal elements of Cinderella. After delicately toeing the line between whimsical and gruesome, the show takes a direct turn into the macabre with one of the best representations of foot mutilation I have ever seen onstage (and I’ve seen surprisingly many).

Did I come away from the show on the step mother’s side? Not quite but I don’t think I was supposed to. Instead I came away from Mara with a deep appreciation for the journey she has gone through and an understanding of her character. She is desperate, she is a mother, she is alone, she is unloved, she is lost. She has struggled and climbed, she has made mistakes and paid for some of them. She has loved and lost, she has envied, she has feared. She is so much more than a caricature of ‘The Evil Stepmother.’

To book tickets to Mara, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/mara.

Photographer: Sarah Clarke

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We Are Not Wagging Our Finger At You… Yet

24/04/2026 Virginia Gray🥉

‘Scenes from the Climate Era’ by David Finnigan Rating

★★★★★

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Last night I attended Underground Theatre Co’s production of “Scenes from the Climate Era”, written by climate activist and theatre maker David Finnigan.

I went in cold; I didn’t know anything about it. I recognized a few of the actors, I knew the venue and I expected it to be heavy and probably depressing.

It was heavy and intense. Most I agreed with, some scenarios just annoyed me, but the important and impressive thing is I was invested and reacting with my thoughts and emotions.

This play is about past climate crises and possible future crises. Giving scenarios in first person from actual events or possible events. Cyclones, fires, heat waves and human reactions. Climate change is complex, chaotic and not a quick fix.

The Geoffrey Rush Studio is under the old Schonell Theatre – closed since 2021 while UQ work out what they do with it. But luckily for UTC the studio is available to them and is an intimate space with tiered seating and ample room for a flat or raised stage.

The set was kept simple – white and black chairs lined up at the edge of the stage, a white and black table to be both table and raised podium, a backdrop that was back lit to create imagery from the actors and atmospheric conditions.

The lighting was simple but used well to set up different scenarios, as was the use of sound. With such a simple set and no costume changes the use of these could have been even more predominant without overpowering the actors or storyline.
You could tell the creatives were all passionate about this play and all gave an emotive performance.

The 8-member cast of Cullyn Beckton, Ava Kozlovskis, Lara-Kate Anderson, Abigail Thomas, Loretta Melit, Miller Braithwaite, Ruby Gleeson and Georgie Falting are all to be congratulated along with 12 creatives led by director Jai Bofinger rehearsed and brought this to production in only 7 weeks. There are 65 scenes to cover a range of human emotions and experiences.

This is a journey that invites you to listen to the danger of climate change from sharing and witnessing experiences with the actors on stage.

It runs for 90 minutes, and an interval would have given the audience a reprieve from the intensity and a chance to catch up with all the information. In saying that the actors were totally committed and an interval may have derailed the emotions and pace of the play.

Did I enjoy it you may ask. I often question my choices when thinking of the effects on the climate. My recent Shein purchases, takeaway plastic containers – this play set out to remind me that we are all part of the solution. But did I enjoy it.
YES – because I like being challenged and i was entertained. This play would not have been on my radar but as I had never seen or heard of it or the playwright, i was curious, and i was not disappointed. For further research and information look up the writer, David Finnigan, he is an interesting character himself.

It runs until the 25 April, tickets on Trybooking.com $20-$35

To book tickets to ‘Scenes from the Climate Era’ by David Finnigan, please visit https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1560499.

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Three Sisters – Chekhov

23/04/2026 CAW

Three Sisters Rating

★★★★★

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We were in for an intense and emotional rollercoaster that is always Chekhov and we got it. The set established the mood with an atmospheric living room and dining area reminiscent of a late nineteenth century painting with curios and antiques shadowed and lit according to the changing dynamics of the play. Chairs, tables and a piano would become central to the changing dynamics of a tight-knit family in the wrong place. Music was beautifully performed adding a melancholic mood adding to the underlying sadness as the dining table was changed for different times of the day reflecting the changing circumstances.

Enter the actors all strong in their own ways and at times challenged not to upstage each other with the drama of each revelation. As the family evolved, we started with a celebration and the characters established themselves in their best light and costumes as if anything were possible and personal dreams were almost real. The three sisters formed the core as the male characters danced around them reacting as disillusionment set in over the years. Dreams came and went and some of the wrong goals became reality with a realisation of the saying, ‘Be careful what you ask for, you may get it’.

The oldest sister, already slightly worn with responsibility was played by an actor who made the character believable and maintained a sense of sympathy from the audience as she struggled with others’ decisions that impacted upon the family’s fortune and frustration. The middle sister, strongly acted, was all suppressed passion, erupting eventually and then left with the scars of untempered desire. The youngest was presented as confident and fresh as a daisy being courted by a couple of men and presenting the first stirrings of the Russian future of work being the goal and reason for living only to find that it is just labour and not love. All female actors offered different facets of the sense of lack of control ending in a fractured life and family.

The male characters were equally strong and believable if occasionally upstaging others due to the bombastic nature of the character. The dream Colonel who offered a romantic view of life probably more than anyone, saw unhappiness as the main result of being. The idolised brother who quickly falls of his pedestal, marries the wrong woman disturbing the household and failing at his dreams ending in emptiness. The Baron who loves the youngest sister and as with the others, makes a choice that would impact upon his life. The minor characters offered a backdrop to a household that is struggling with identity, living with rose-coloured glasses of their past life in Moscow and refusing to see what is evolving around them.

The audience laughed, squirmed, became irritated and responded to the oncoming disillusionment as each character fell apart and the ending left asking for more and what happens to them next?

To book tickets to Three Sisters, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/three-sisters.

Photographer: Robert Miniter

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