Maximum Achievement
There are any number of plays featuring one dominant or unforgettable
role which your average thespian would kill to get. In Comic Potential, Alan
Ayckbourn’s futuristic spin on the television industry, the key character is
Jacie Triplethree, an alluring female android created for an age, probably
not that long from now, when technology is so far advanced that fax machines
are already obsolete, and actors have been replaced by robots known as
actoids. It’s a demanding role requiring considerably versatility,
convincing robotic movements, incisive reactions, sustained humour, an air
of innocence and the ability to deliver a string of screen clichés without
ruining the joke, and which needs an exceptional talent to carry it off.
Bring on Emily Lee, who needed no special programming to deliver a
performance of pure gold that lit up this sparkling production, stumbling
hilariously through situations which left her utterly bewildered, as well as
totally frustrated. Some things don’t change, however: the world will still
be populated by broadcasting bureaucrats happy to deter writers who dream of
creating that lasting hit, and by young men who will fall for feminine
beauty.
Phil Vigus captured all the naïvety and wide-eyed innocence of wannabe
dramatist Adam who is totally smitten by the graceful Jacie, while Denise
Medlicott embodied all the officiousness of the television company’s
controlling elite. Phil Ward fumed and fussed as irascible director Chandler
Tate, while the remainder of the capable cast contributed a variety of
entertaining cameos, dancing merrily round the maypole that was the
omnipotent force Jacie.
We may worry about the consequences of too much automation, but if the
net result is anything like this absorbing presentation, at least there’ll
be plenty of amusement to redeem it.
Simon Lewis for BBC Radio Gloucestershire Theatre
and Arts
Emily's Robot is a Brilliant Mix
When Sir Alan Ayckbourn's 53rd play was unveiled in 1998, the idea of
virtual screen stars was only just emerging, as characters like Lara Croft
were preparing to make the jump from computer games to celluloid.
Ayckbourn took the idea one step further with Comic Potential, imagining a
future where daytime TV was acted by androids, or actoids as he dubbed them.
The show is being revived at The Playhouse by the Deep End theatre
company.
It opens with TV director Chandler Tate (played by Phil Ward) running
a low-budget studio where the actors have all been replaced by robots.
Chandler's world is turned upside down when one actoid, JC Triplethree,
starts to experience human emotions. She's brought to life brilliantly
by Emily Lee, who throws herself into the demanding role and gives a
convincing mix of sensitive charm and robotic ambivalence.
The robot's new-found emotions are tested when she meets idealistic
young screenwriter Adam (played by Phil Vigus).
It's a comedy that brings together Ayckbourn's love of visual humour,
with an intriguing imagining of the emotional struggles humans could be
forced to confront as technology gets ever-more sophisticated.
The Gloucestershire Echo
