A play that uses AI as its inspiration is definitely of the moment. East is South, written by Beau Willimon (who has extensive credits on stage and screen), has a lot of promise, billed as a ‘gripping thriller’.
The main house at Hampstead Theatre has a set on two levels for this production, six actors, and underused video design. It’s a mystery from the start where and when the play is set, and what we are watching.
The top level acts as a sort of observation deck, with a technician (Aaron Gill) operating a camera and audio in an interrogation room (or pair of rooms). Lena (Kaya Scodelario, good in a thankless role) is a coder detained on suspicion of attempting to override an AI system.
East is South refers to a poem, a command, a text message. Its impenetrability also applies to the play itself, as it switches between questioning, religion, romance, race, violence, status, and culture.
In Lena and Sasha (Luke Treadaway), we have two individuals who seek to break the cycle of artificial intelligence and programmed sentience to offer something more concrete and alive.
The officials who question them, Dr Darvish (Nathalie Armin) and Olsen (Alec Newman), lack empathy and humanity, although the latter has a giant chip on his shoulder about class and education.
Only Dr Abrahams (Cliff Curtis) shows a sliver of what might pass as a way with people, although it is to his ultimate detriment. He’s part Maori, from New Zealand, and seems spiritual, if not religious.
With too many confusing scenes in flashbacks and moments that fail to fly (a Bach recording, a moment of joint prayer), East is South feels a little bewildering, and I struggled to see the meaning within it.
At a couple of moments, the video design (by Xakk Hein) floods the stage walls with shapes and colours, but without a good reason to do this, it doesn’t enhance the play.
Ellen McDougall directs in a very static style for the most part with little movement for the actors. The character of Sasha feels undeveloped while Olsen is the stereotypical American patriot, raging at a woman he thinks is lying and goading his male subordinate to mimic his arrogance.
Darvish and Abrahams are perhaps the most interesting characters. Her veneer is damaged by the realisation that in this basement, ‘far beneath the desert’, to be industrious and playing by the rules is not safe. For him, an addictive personality forces an uneasy compliance.
While watching this, I had several questions about why the woman was demeaned by insinuations about her sexual history and why the man from Russia was given a place of trust in the government. The former felt forced and distasteful; the latter unlikely.
Towards the end, a shocking moment caused a seat neighbour to cry out, and perhaps the content warnings should be perused before coming along.
Technically, East is South delivers with the set design (Alex Eales), lighting (Azusa Ono), and sound (Tingying Dong) all effective. However, a play succeeds when what is presented inside these designs makes sense and allows an audience some catharsis.
Despite some ideas that offer a new perspective on drama (rather like AI itself), I didn’t find East is South the rewarding journey I hoped for.
2 stars.
East is South continues at Hampstead Theatre until 15 Mar with tickets here.
Image credit: Manuel Harlan