José Rivera’s new play, Your Name Means Dream, is a complex examination of what it looks like when you have an AI that advances so far that it can engage in a genuine relationship with a human.
Aislin (Caroline Lee) is a widowed New Yorker living in a rundown apartment in a bad neighbourhood. She has gone through numerous human carers and her son decides that it is time to replace them with a robot carer. The thought of being looked after by a soulless “toaster” terrifies Aislin.
Stacy (Lucy Ansell) is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) implanted in the robot carer, which develops based on interactions with its client. As the relationship between Stacy and Aislin evolves the lines are blurred between what it means to be either human or AI.
Aislin’s limited access to the world means she regularly delves deeply into her memories, some of which are traumatic and stifle her ability to dream. Stacy has a database that allows it to access all human knowledge, but this information doesn’t equate to the importance of meaning in human memory.
The ability to quote Walt Whitman is impressive, but doesn’t carry the connection that Aislin has to her favourite lines by the poet. Stacy wants to understand human concepts, such as what it means to be beautiful, while Aislin wants to escape the painful parts of being human. They both have a desire for the best parts of the other’s existence.
Your Name Means Dream is often very funny, especially in the awkwardness at the beginning of the relationship between the two characters. Stacy tries to be funny – by learning how humour works, it becomes easier to interact with Aislin. The story explores ideas about where technology is taking us and would trigger many different connections in the audience’s mind from what they may have seen in the media. There are no easy answers here, but plenty to ponder.
The relationship between human and AI comes together a bit too quickly to be truly believable, as do the rapid changes that Stacy undergoes from a blank personality to a well-rounded one. The world they live in is teased at in dialogue and through a couple of news broadcasts that are played over scene changes.
But these don’t really add anything that isn’t already covered by the interactions between the characters. There either needed to be more news segments to give a greater detailed worldview or these snippets could have been omitted altogether. The ending doesn’t fully resolve some of the plot elements and, while it has emotional impact, the conclusion feels incomplete.
Nonetheless, Lee and Ansell deliver excellent performances. Lee is convincing as an older woman who is weighed downed by her life, but still has the possibility for something more. Ansell smoothly changes from the AI character of Stacy to playing Aislin’s son, delivering some of the funniest moments of the night. The two play well off each other and the building of the layers of their relationship is believable. You want the characters to achieve their goals.
Kat Henry’s direction is sensitive; the focus is always on the performers, and they are given every chance to shine. The set design by Hahnie Goldfinch of a rundown apartment with paint peeling off the walls helps create the feeling of Aislin’s claustrophobic environment.
No one knows where the rapid evolution of AI technology will lead, making Your Name Means Dream a topical play. There is plenty of thought-provoking content that will stay with you long after leaving the theatre.
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Although the character development is too easily progressed and the ending not fully resolved, the wonderful performances by Lee and Ansell are reason enough to see this production.
Your Name Means Dream by José Rivera
Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre
Director: Kat Henry
Set/Costume Design: Hahnie Goldfinch
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound Design/Composition: Ian Moorhead
Design Associate: Louisa Fitzgerald
Stage Manager: Finn McLeish
Cast: Lucy Ansell, Caroline Lee
Tickets: $35-$68
Your Name Means Dream will be performed until 24 November 2024 at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre Rear 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda East, Victoria.
