There aren’t many acts from Luxembourg at this year’s Fringe, so when I spotted Duncan Hodgkinson’s one-man avant-garde play, I was immediately intrigued.
It’s 2087 and Dante lives alone in his tiny bedsit with his computer companion She-Bot. His girlfriend has moved to Japan seeking a simpler life free of technology, while he counts down the days until he turns 25 and receives his mandatory body implant. He wants to write a thrilling chivalrous screenplay but as his real life disintegrates around him, fantasy and reality begin to blend into each other.
Much of the material is sadly topical: the relentless march of technology, the privacy concerns with the devices around us, and the difficulties of relationships in a digital age. Indeed, as adults in this dystopian world, they’re asked to choose what machine they will become to better serve humanity – the thought of being a computer monitor for the rest of time after a ‘final upgrade’ is quite terrifying!
Duncan possesses an extraordinary ability to embody his characters- with a subtle change in lighting he’s the knight errant in his script, slaying beasts and chastising his permanently hungry French squire. As things become more complicated, Dante fights duels with his unsympathetic boss, or lusts after monstrous harpies. It’s an intense, physical performance, and even the charmingly homemade She-Bot takes on a gloriously sinister turn.
Dante and the Robot is a fascinating exploration of the consequences of technological progress, and a real must-see gem from the Grand Duchy.
****
Dante and the Robot is at Zoo Playground, 2-25 Aug