Viva Lewes Issue #150 March 2019

ON THIS MONTH: THEATRE
Loving Androids
Philip Ayckbourn on drama, decency and droids
Imagine a future where
relationship counselling is
handled by a pair of lifelike
robots. Rather than just
talking, each becomes a
substitute spouse to the
human they’re helping. And
although these ‘Partnerbots’
are capable of offering physical
comfort, they also assess
and role-play the problems
they discover. Consequently,
the human couple quickly
gain a new insight into their
incompatibility, at which point the robots are
taken away to have their memories wiped clean.
Fortunately this isn’t a dystopian nightmare.
It’s the premise of Loving Androids, a comedy
drama crafted by Philip Ayckbourn. Not
only is Philip the writer, he’s also directing
the forthcoming production at Lewes Little
Theatre, where his farce Timeshare was
performed in 2017.
“I’ve always been interested in gadgets and
people”, Philip tells me. Those interests
coincided in Michael Crichton’s 1973 film
Westworld, which used human-looking robots
as entertainment in an adventure park. “I was
hugely influenced by that”, he explains. “I was
very interested about their lives and how the
humans treated them as playthings.”
“The Partnerbots are quite human-like, they’re
not clunky, which also makes the margins a bit
blurred. They’re not just a toy you can switch
off; they have feelings because they’ve been
programmed in a very advanced way.”
A robot counsellor is a fascinating proposition
but it’s not a straightforward one for the actors
to interpret. “It is a challenge – it’s a challenge
for me, too”, Philip says. “It
really comes from movement,
from stillness, really. Starting
from nothing and building up
from the stillness. It gives them
a great power and strength,
which is lovely to watch. If
they become too animated, too
emotional, they become more
human.”
Science fiction isn’t the only
influence on Loving Androids.
This play – and Timeshare, too –
have a comedic style that owes
a debt to Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Philip’s father.
“The Ayckbourn DNA is there”, I suggest. “I’m
very aware of that when I’m writing”, Philip
replies. “Obviously I’m steeped in his work.
There’s no escaping that – which I think isn’t a
bad thing; I feel very fortunate for that DNA.
Something I really admire about him is the
comedy; the ability to find the right word, the
right line, to set something up and the payoff.
And since, principally, I’m concerned with
comedy, that’s very good DNA to be able to
call on.
“When you’re playing with slightly heightened
or unreal situations – like Loving Androids – you
need humour, I think, for people to go along
with the believability of it.”
There’s a supernatural Ayckbourn double-bill
planned for the 2019-2020 season at Lewes
Little Theatre, featuring Haunting Julia by Sir
Alan plus Psychic Connections by Philip. But, like
android counsellors, that’s yet to come. Right
now, Philip’s heading back to rehearsals to teach
people how to be less human. Mark Bridge
Loving Androids runs at Lewes Little Theatre
from 16th to 23rd March. lewestheatre.org
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