Upon entering the space, you notice that the stage was set using window frames glued together defining an apartment. The set also used Ikea style flat pack furniture as props, stacked on top of each other to represent more bulky pieces of furniture. The play had minimal lighting which was used to establish day and night settings effectively.  However, the top row of lights on the wall of the stage was used to highlight, once or twice, the technological aspects of the setting.

The premise of the play is that people have chips implanted that enables the government to control their law-abiding behaviour. After the play starts, the government announces that the chips will be updated with an operating change that will make people be more truthful about their intentions.  In between scenes, an annoying buzz indicates to the audience that the implanted chips are being updated. I love the idea, I like the way its presented, but it doesn’t appear to have a great effect on the behaviour of the two characters in the play.

The two characters, two women, are married to each other. It starts as a loving relationship, but there are clear cracks forming.  This is obvious to the audience even before the update is loaded. The two characters are contrasts of a creative/non creative relationship.  One has neat black hair, a full-time job, a logical mind. Her partner has wild red hair, has a creative and impulsive nature.

At the start of the play they are both very much in love with each other and have small aspects of the other in their personality.  The black-haired woman has aspects of creativity, the red-haired woman had aspects of logic and order. They are not named in the play, nor do they use each other’s names during the play. For the purposes of this review, I name them Black and Red based on their hair colour.

The rhythm of the play is a scene with dialogue and relationship issues, a night scene where either Black or Red, silently but emotionally, express their creativity/frustration either before or during a change in the implant, and then sometimes the implant being changed; signified by glowing orange lights and an annoying buzz over a futuristic melody.

I find the play to be flawed in several ways.  Firstly, the sci-fi premise could be explored to greater effect. The humour in the play comes from the times when the government outlines the need for an upgrade as discussed by faceless spin-merchants and toadying presenters.

Secondly, the play could exist quite well without this conceit. The crumbling relationship doesn’t seem to be a direct result of the forced changes in the implant. Maybe the disintegration happens faster because of the upgrade, but I found it hard to tell.

Three. The domestic nature of the play takes focus instead of the sci-fi so the play and the characters are caricatures, almost two dimensional.  Fortunately, the actors flesh out the characters with humanity and energy so that the characters lift from the page with satisfaction. Red especially, portrayed the creative free spirit with great depth.  And eventually I warmed to Black’s performance too. She started a bit cold, but as she explored the change, we got to see the same depth.

There were great parts in the play.  The arguments between the characters were expressed using the same line with different emphasis.  The writer going straight to the heart of the argument whilst showing that in such situations we only ever have one complaint, but we express it differently every time we open our mouths.  And as mentioned previously the media surrounding the implant change was amusing.

I liked the production, but I wanted to like it more than I did.