Control (flatpack), at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory - 100 minutes, with no interval

We are venturing into a brave new world, one in which artificial intelligence threatens to overwhelm and overpower the human brain.

That is my take on the exploration of self, contained in writer Keziah Warner’s Control.

It is a play set in the future and told in three time frames.

Photos by Kate Cameron

The first sees four people in a spaceship hurtling towards Mars.

This is not a science experiment, but a reality game show, in which participants win money by completing a series of challenges.

Of course, there is a mercenary element to it, whereby they are expected to exploit emotions.

In the process, they need to make themselves vulnerable, all the while keeping viewers engaged and entertained.

Skip forward 20 years and we are at The Museum of Childhood.

It is where all childhood memories, including nightmarish visions, are stored for free and can’t be deleted.

But that doesn’t mean that some don’t try.

One wants to expunge the memory of his half-brother who featured in the Mars reality space show. 

Another, assigned to the museum, precipitated a tragic accident when she was only 15.

Human staff also realise they can outwit a robot designed to process and absorb information by slowing down or speeding up speaking to it.

They can also make him dance very awkwardly.

Finally, a further three decades on, on New Earth, formerly known as Mars, a human is training an AI bot to become a teacher.

The human is the daughter of one of those that worked at The Museum of Childhood.

She can turn up and turn down the bot’s emotional cues – from sympathy, empathy and compassion to apathy, aggression and, even, flirtation.

She is amazed and disarmed at how quickly the bot, with whom she bonds, absorbs information.

Keeping her professional distance becomes a challenge.

Commissioned by Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre through its INK Program, which seeks to develop new Australian works, Control was first performed there in 2019.

It explores humanity’s desire to dictate how we are perceived by others and was shortlisted for the Patrick White Playwrights Award.

As we race ever closer to a supercharged AI future, the contentions raised in the 100-minute work seem more relevant than ever.

The play delves into our relationship with technology, exposing moral ambiguities, dependencies and possibilities.

Reality TV is a misnomer, for it is manufactured, while imbuing robots with intelligence is fraught with danger.

Imbued with humour and pathos, the four actors involved in flatpack’s production at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory are all adept at their craft.

I speak of Seon Williams, Faran Martin, Lachlan Herring and Alex Duncan.

They impress, delivering with alacrity and confidence, readily changing character as required.

I was “involved” throughout, but had a particular affinity for Act III and the “meeting of minds” between human (Martin) and machine (Williams).

Other highlights included Duncan’s off the wall dance routine and Herring’s memory recollection and pleas for it to be expunged.

I also appreciated the futuristic set and astronaut uniforms designed by set and costume designer Silvia Weijia Shao.

Director Olivia Staaf keeps the action moving, ensuing a smooth flow between scenes.

To me, the message is clear – once the Jeanie is out of the bottle, it is out forever. We face the real possibility of a dystopian future where we are no longer in control.

Control is on at the Explosives Factory until 1^st November, 2025.