Fringe Review: ARTIFICIAL REALITY, Just the Big Cave at Just the Tonic at The Caves
Photo credit: Charlotte Horton
Improbotics show that Artificial Reality has an intriguing premise. An improvised reality TV show on stage where, over time, contestants are replaced by AI. The show offers an interesting exploration of what AI can and can’t do.
Unfortunately, despite the fascinating concept, the show doesn’t land particularly well. It begins like many improv shows do with taking audience suggestions for, in this case, what the reality show will be. Jillian Castillo Ellis is great as the host - a great stage presence and full of energy. Then what unfolds is a fairly typical improv show with some AI tech thrown in along the way. This group of improvisers isn’t necessarily the best you’ll find. The improv techniques being used are fairly obvious and the show isn’t anywhere near as funny as we’d have liked it to be.
There are some fun performances amongst the small cast. Alex Newson is a particular stand-out - he probably gets the most laughs of the cast. Mike Prior is also entertaining as he tries to play a celebrity suggested by the audience - a celebrity that most of the rest of the audience and cast had never heard of!
Some of the AI technology that gets added offers some humour. The glasses that tell Marco Del Valle what to say and think are quite funny, particularly because they’re so slow to respond. Unfortunately, lots of the technology doesn’t seem to work though - particularly what we assume was supposed to transform Prior into the celebrity he was playing on screen.
There are so many improv shows on offer at the Fringe so credit must go to Improbotics for attempting something different. Whilst the show wasn’t as entertaining and funny as it could have been, we can safely say that AI is not coming to steal our jobs.
** Two stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush