Blackwood Players are a long-standing and valued member of Adelaide’s community theatre scene. This production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Comic Potential begins a decidedly new direction for the company and they have stepped out with purpose and drive. With the experienced Greg Elliott as director, the cast has realised the playwright’s exploration of where the intrusion of AI could be leading us. It largely treats the topic with light humour but there is an underlying sense of warning.
The play takes place in and around a community television studio in which the performers are all ‘actoids’, robotic actors in human form. The premise is clear. It presents the consequences of AI replacing real actors in film and television, and further, poses the related and deeper question of just what is the difference between illusion and reality. That serious poser remains for the whole play, largely personified by the actoid JCF 31333 known as Jacie Triplethree, who’s currently playing a nurse, and the impact Jacie has on others, principally Adam Trainsmith, nephew of the studio owner.
Here set on a practically bare stage, and with the support only of necessary furniture – a bed, a desk and some chairs – the audience’s attention was strongly directed to the action and ideas of the play. The cast brought out those ideas with generally convincing clarity. Ayckbourne’s narrative kept up a good pace, especially in Act 1, and the cast managed the second, more fragmented and indeed didactic Act 2 quite well. A prime example of the latter was the heartfelt monologue by Philip Lyneton as the elderly Lester Trainsmith, the studio owner. As a nice irony, the senior Trainsmith doesn’t usually bother to speak himself, relying rather on Marmion, played by Geoff Hastwell, wired to him to voice his thoughts. It’s an amusing device and works well.
Amber Faull was convincing in the role of Jacie, clearly delineating between the various roles the actoid had been programmed to perform over time. It was easy to accept the nuances of role and character, thanks to well-developed stagecraft, physicality and crisp use of voice. Indeed Faull commanded our attention throughout. It was a classy performance.
Damien White supported the play’s narrative well as the community television soapie director Chandler Tate, whose career is in precipitous decline. White gave the clear impression of his character’s failings. He was convincing in his vulnerability despite the occasional burst of bravado.
Adam Schulz played the credulous Lester Trainsmith, who, in a humorously unlikely way, fell in love with the android Jacie. He made a pretty good fist of the role and was a credibly sappy, gormless even, in contrast to the decisiveness of his beloved. His mellow tone of voice and comic timing were evident, although at times his physical focus was a little unclear.
Rebecca Gardner was strong in the role of the android technician Prim Spring. Her experience was evident, and importantly, she showed a clear sense of ensemble when working with the others in the cast.
Others to impress were Matthew Chant who showed a pleasing range of skills in his various roles, Turkey the pimp and the actoid farmer chief among them. Erin McAllister was uncompromising and unpleasant as Carla Pepperbloom, while Johnathon Montgomery and Stephanie Russell had some telling moments in their several roles.
In all, the production did well to raise and tease out the serious underlying challenges of AI to the film industry, while making much of the humour – physically and in dialogue – presented by the script.
It is a production worth seeing. There was a small yet warmly appreciative audience on opening night. As they head in a new and optimistic direction the Blackwood Players deserve increasing support. They are a positive asset to their community and the performing arts in Adelaide.
