Written by Sophia Simmons

Directed by Claire Glenn

Review by Dominic Corr

There’s a peculiar ‘no-no’ attitude towards discussions of Artificial Intelligence at this year’s Festival Fringe. Shows which feature AI are using it as the butt of a joke, toying with it’s comedic properties, or manifesting it as a throw-away gag character. There’s a sense that everyone knows it’s something we have to chat about, but they’re unsure of just what to say.

That’s not an issue for the Singaporean-based Youth Theatre Group Conundrum, whose Only Human presents the, frankly, very near future in an outcome which, while emphasised for effect, never feels too outside of the realms of tangibility – as much warning as it is science fiction.

An ambitious, folly, and arrogant tech billionaire creates a line of AI-infused robots designed to be unencumbered with the limitations of a mortal body and the peak of human testing and design. But in the vein of stories from Doug Church or Isaac Asimov, Conundrum’s tremendously ambitious and adept Only Human finds these bots ‘’activate with an obvious anti-human rhetoric in their programming, an uprising on an unimaginable scale occurs as even the more modest of robotics begin to learn from their AI counterparts that’s the human race is rather ‘squishy’ and could easily be toppled.

It is a strikingly intricate script that, while heavy-handed in moments and enjoying a run-through dialogue, is executed well with streamlined direction – even incorporating solid physical elements and ensemble movement pieces. Every performer on stage is here with dedication, and though it’s a tough gig at times, it delivers each character and line (even the lengthier ones) with composure. With some brilliant performances, fittingly driven by a more irrational and emotional stance from the ‘Human’ performers and a Roomba dedicated (to a minor fault) to getting the timing of a gag down.

There’s room for the script to mature with the cast and take a more severe route in its narrative: as painful as name-calling can be for the human ego, there’s a suspicion that any AI uprising might target fleshier and more accessible weaknesses. But even then, there’s plenty of atmosphere and colour with intense monologues, which would give even seasoned performers a lot to work with; kudos to the cast. But for all the gags, the dancing, and the occasional dark moment – there’s a surprisingly romantic emergence, and a welcome one, as a young girl and a robot begins to develop genuine feelings and stage chemistry.

The battle between AI and humanity is at the Fringe. For some, it’s a gag, but for Conundrum, it’s a real subject. They tackle it with creative staging and multimedia sequences to offer weight and some truly engaging performances from a team dedicated to what they do. The emotions are genuine, and the artificial intelligence is intelligent, though not entirely artificial, in a production booming with enthusiasm and creativity. A show which we should keep an eye on, both for it’s veracious creative team, but also just to be safe…

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