Interference @ City Park, Glasgow
National Theatre of Scotland explore three visions of a dystopian future in Interference
The heady success of shows like Black Mirror highlights our fascination of the idea of a dystopian near-future where virtual reality and artificial intelligence are commonplace in our everyday lives. The National Theatre of Scotland’s most recent triptych of performances, Interference, is an exploration of the technology we create, how we implement it in our lives and the impact it may have, for better or worse.
Cora Bissett directs three short plays which vary greatly in style, but threaded through each of them is the same gently unnerving tone. The audience are visiting The Company, allowed a glance into a life 25 years into the future as they are guided between sets over the course of the night.
Morna Pearson’s Darklands opens the show: Brie (Shyvonne Ahmmad) and Logan (Nicholas Ralph) are a couple struggling to conceive, but are thrown a lifeline by the faceless company they work for. Can scientific advances replace human reproduction, and should they? This is followed by Metaverse by Hannah Khalil: a mother (Maureen Beattie) is kept away from her daughter (Ahmmad) while she works on technological advancements. Virtual reality allow them to see and speak to each other, but how sure can she be that it’s really her daughter on the other side? The evening then ends with Vlad Butucea’s Glowstick – as artificial intelligence takes over from human carers, a suffering woman (Beattie) tries to forge a connection with her android carer (Moyo Akandé).
Garry Boyle’s sound design acts like a performer in its own right; the familiar and at times slightly unnerving edge to the music pulls all three plays together and gives a sense of cohesion to the performances. Designer Jen McGinley has created a believable future world, free of gimmicks but stark enough to be believable. Set in a windowless office block, the feeling of claustrophobia is creeping and subtle, but strong enough to set the bleak tone.
Yet Interference is not all doom and gloom. Bissett isn’t commenting that all technology is inherently bad, but is rather suggesting that we should closely examine how it is used, before the dystopia we love to watch becomes the way we live.
Interference @ City Park, 368 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow, until 30 Mar
https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/production/interference/