Lubna Kerr takes comfort from an AI version of her late husband
ANDY MOSELEY sees a vision of an AI future and a family reunion, both rooted in dealing with death
A Better Memory
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The question of whether you would want an extra day, let alone the rest of your life with a deceased loved one is one that the growth of AI has turned into something more than a theoretical possibility. In this new play, written by Ishan Kerr, the possibility becomes a reality as Eleanor, played by Lubna Kerr, gets an Alexa style version of her late husband Harold, played by Codge Crawford.
The AI version of Harold has his memories and his personality, his good traits and his bad hobbies. But is he a comfort to her or something preventing her from moving on? Can she change what she doesn’t like about him without making him someone else, and what do the things he can remember but she can’t say about both of them?
There are lots of twists and turns in the play that take it beyond philosophical musings and into a story with a mystery and a richly satisfying conclusion. With strong performances from Kerr, Crawford and Kathryn Mowper as their former lodger and Eleanor’s confidante Mia, it’s a play that will stay will you without the aid of an AI device.
Pleasance Courtyard (The Green) 6.30pm
5 -30 August (not 17th or 25th)
After Party
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Morna Young’s new play, part of the Travfest strand of the Fringe, is a topical consideration of assisted dying, the right to die and how imminent death affects the way family members think of each other.
Alison Peebles leads the cast as Vivienne Blackwood, a former diva style star who is also the matriarch of a dysfunctional family. For her 80th birthday she is holding a party that could be a throwback to the ones she held in her heyday, except this time only the family are invited.
The first act shows tensions already existing as a grandson and his partner clash with his overtly religious mother, and the daughter of a much-married father strives to get some time to really speak to her dad. All of this is merely background setting however, as Vivienne announces the real reason for the gathering; she is planning to die the following day and wants her family there to say goodbye to.
While the first act shows the immediate reactions to the statement, the second act, which moves the action to the following day, is a more sombre affair as most of the family move towards acknowledging Vivienne’s right to die, and she in turn becomes less combative and more conciliatory towards them. Her thoughts on her death are neatly peppered with Shakespearean references as if to alleviate her fears of dying and frame her death as a final act in a performance.
Peebles switch from feisty to vulnerable defines a piece that moves from family drama to a meditative discourse on life and death.
Traverse 1 various times
6 – 30 August
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