Spillikin by Pipeline Theatre
You know method actors, right? They have their demands and rituals. Everything has to be ‘just so’ (the decaf latte, the ‘do not disturb’ sign) or else they simply cannot go on… darling!
Turns out RoboThespian™, the star of Pipeline Theatre’s show Spillikin, needs a room temperature of 10°C - 30°C, a wired internet network connection, and un-oiled and compressed air at 6bar, filtered to 10µm. Talk about a rider! What a diva!
Actually… it turns out to be worth it, because, after a while into this witty and touching show, you forget about the wires and hydraulics and are simply swept along with the story.
Sally is an old woman with attitude and Alzheimer's. Her sole companion, as she slowly drifts deeper into the disease, is a humanoid robot, a last gift from her dead genius husband, Raymond. He keeps her company, plays ‘I spy’ and jogs her memory. As he does so, flashbacks occur and we learn of the meeting and courtship of an unlikely couple. A sexy, opinionated, rebellious young woman and an awkward teenage brainiac who knows more about science, words and robotics than he does about the fairer sex.
Spillikin is fourth wall theatre. The set is Sally’s house (which gets projected on during scene changes), the script is tight, moving and funny, and the acting is ‘proper’ acting.
Anna Munden and Michael Tonkin-Jones, who play the young Sally and Raymond, were very sweet. His bumbling attempts at romance were touching and funny, and she commanded the stage with a burgeoning sexuality. It took me back to my teenage years when girls suddenly became enticing and scary all at the same time. I mean, she even walked on sucking a lollypop. Seriously (and a female friend has backed me up here), she was electrifying to watch.
Moving on to the question you’re all asking: how was the robot? Well, the robot was well-pitched. Just techy enough to be impressive, but never overbearing. He was serene and the character’s warmth grew as the show progressed. His timing and responses were so good, you were left asking ‘how did they do that?’.
It is a testament to Engineered Arts (who were responsible for the RoboThespian™), the technician (who was, on this occasion, writer and director Jon Welch) and Judy Norman, who lead the piece with a performance that was rambunctious, tender and desperately emotionally bleak towards the end. I was particularly impressed by the writing in this section; as the Alzheimer's affects Sally's speech her bumbling monologues become both nonsensical and revealing.
So, a good show all-in-all. I was expecting something with a little more pathos and was impressed with how the piece tackled mortality, the question of A.I. carers and illness and relationships with an unblinking eye.
My one niggle is, well, I can’t quite put a finger on my one niggle. I think it’s something to do with a sense of resolution. The piece obviously reached for some sweeping end scenes but didn’t quite get there. It all felt a bit open-ended. And maybe that was the intention. Life is like that, isn’t it? But then again, we expect plays like this to give it form and meaning.
To embark on a rather dubious metaphor – I would say the show was a great meal with a slightly disappointing dessert. I was expecting cheesecake but got carrot cake. And who in their right mind puts carrot in a cake? A bit too abstract if you ask me.
The show has earned loads of four and five star reviews, and if I had to rate it I would say it's a four star show. If you haven’t seen Spillikin, I’d urge you to check it out. The robot is impressive but so is the writing, the set design and the human acting. A solid, engrossing four stars.
As it happens, I was outside smoking a fag after the show and I bumped into RoboThespian™. I tried to have a chat but he was still in character and demanded that I call him Raymond. I don’t know… actors!
See Pipeline Theatre’s website and upcoming shows here: http://www.pipelinetheatre.com/
