If there was a buzzword of the year, it would likely be AI. The computer-powered intelligence technology has seemingly been harnessed in nearly every industry: in music it’s being used to write songs, in academia it’s being used to facilitate research, and in science it’s being used to engineer machines, create new drugs, and look into space.
Recently, theatre has also been getting the AI treatment, with several plays tackling the fascinating topic. These include Jennifer Tang and Company’s 2021 play AI – which used the tech to help develop its script and considered “the algorithms at work in the world around us” – and THEaiTRE, a 2021 Czech project where a whole play was written by AI.
Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre also staged a two week AI Festival earlier this month, which included a workshop, an exhibition, tech-infused improvisation, and a selection of plays all musing on the subject of AI.
And next up in this burgeoning genre is Disruption, a new play from Andrew Stein (White Privilege, Cringe) which is set to run for three weeks at The Park Theatre.
Opening today, the thriller, which describes itself as “a cautionary play”, tells the story of tech-entrepreneur Nick who is trying to create an algorithm that’s even more complex than the human brain. He hopes that his AI-powered system will help humans to answer some of the bigger questions about their lives and the universe, and will even perhaps use it as a tool for navigating their lives.
But of course, no innovation comes without drawbacks, and in the process of presenting the idea to his closest friends, the tech whizz has to face a whole host of complicated and thought-provoking questions about himself and the the world around him, leading the play to a dramatic denouement.
“Do computers know us better than we know ourselves?” asks Disruption. “And even if they do, should we listen?”
The cast stars Oliver Alvin Wilson (Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power) as Nick, as well as Nathaniel Curtis (It’s A Sin), Sasha Desouza-Willock (Deep Heat), Rosanna Hyland (Back to the Future, West End), Debbie Korley (Henry VIII, The Globe), Kevin Shen (Life of Pi, West End) and Mika Simmons (Showtrial).
“Sitting in the rehearsal room the past few days, I’ve realized how extraordinary the calibre of actors we have in this ensemble are,” said director Hersh Ellis, whose London directorial debut, Crystal Skillman’s Rain and Zoe Save the World, opened at the Jermyn Street theatre last year.
“The humour, pathos and depth in each one of them is already next level. I’m so looking forward to the journey over the coming weeks and sharing this piece with audiences.”
In recent months, the number of articles and think-pieces questioning and exploring the ethics of AI, and the speed of its adoption, have increased exponentially.
AI unearths a whole world of new possibilities, but some people are fearful of the new technology. The Standard published the article “Is the AI apocalypse actually coming?” last month, looking at the potential dominance of AI in the future.
