Details

Witty, bleak and challenging, this year's Breakfast Plays guarantee a fresh perspective on the future of human-machine relations. Will technology save us, or will it tear us apart? The Girl in the Machine - Polly is a professional, a high achiever and an addict. Her drug of choice is a grade A, top of the range smart phone. She clicks and scrolls for minutes, hours and days at a time. When Polly discovers an app that uses algorithms to create brand new music by long-dead musicians, the line between human and computer begins to blur, and the downloads become increasingly dangerous. A play about networks, nerve endings and Nirvana. The Conversation - Robert has a big decision to make but no-one to help him make it. Drunk one night he sits down in front of his computer and bounces his problems off of an online artificial intelligence machine. But will she be able to help? Will she steer him towards the darkness or the light? A play co-written by Rob Drummond and a Chatbot. Bin Held - Jean's in a rage. She's ditched her pals in the karaoke bar and now she's very drunk. As she tries unsuccessfully to walk off her aggression, she encounters a man whose head seems to be stuck in a rubbish bin. She doesn't know why he's there - and maybe he doesn't, either - but she's determined to make a connection. How to Ruin Someone's Life from the Comfort of your Own Beanbag - A dramatised lecture created by convicted hacker Darren Davidson and playwright Tim Price. Darren is one of the UK's most notorious hackers, and was part of an online subculture dedicated to 'life ruining'. The lecture will take audiences on a journey through one of the Internet's most hostile and dangerous communities, and discuss how identity is our only leverage in an age of digital migration, industrialised surveillance and corporate hegemony.

Creatives/Company

Company: Traverse Theatre Company
Author(s): Stef Smith (The Girl in the Machine), Rob Drummond (The Conversation), Morna Pearson (Bin Heid), Tim Price (How to Ruin Someone's Life from the Comfort of your Own Beanbag)
Director(s): Orla O'Loughlin, Rosie Kellagher, Zinnie Harris, Emma Callander