Someday We’ll Find It – Adelaide Fringe 2024 Review

[Theatre and Physical Theatre/Absurdist ~ Victoria] Studio 166 at Goodwood Theatre and Studios, Wed 13 Mar, 2024. Imagine brainstorming a theatre piece as a social comment on our interactions with computers, in particular Google Search and ChatGPT, and deciding that you won't write any dialogue - rather you’ll let the bots do it for you! The result is a mash up of question suggestions from Google search, and some ChatGPT output relating to dancing lessons, and a play structure supplied by ChatGPT. It’s probably not quite as adsurd as it seems, given these are now everyday human interactions. This is a solo performance and the play opens with Zach providing a little introductory information, allowing us as the audience to think, feel and experience. But then he is immersed in the play, being more a functionary of the machine than a human actor. It can be serious and also very silly – especially when the two are juxtaposed. The ChatGPT sections of the show are several acted out monologues on subjects often containing the obvious, along with the quite dumb things that the AI comes out with. And there is a play within the play that is created by ChatGPT on the subject of digital versus physical reality. Zach does a great job of playing several parts in this, and while it is only bare bones – it kind of makes sense, ideas that could be fleshed out. The lighting, visual and audio effects and accompaniment are well constructed and assist in highlighting what is going on. The stage is essentially an office, complete with desk, computer, water cooler, trash bin and boxes of storage. At times things get re-organised, moved about, and a whole pile of toy dinosaurs are unpacked and distributed around the place to the accompaniment of the google monologue questions. One could imagine a few not so absurd metaphors in this action. Good theatre provokes questioning and Someday We’ll Find It has this in spades. It’s quirky, original and edgy theatre that young playwrights should be encouraged to write. Well perhaps at least document - you don’t have to make this up when Google search questions and ChatGPT can provide such rich gifts and lines. But you do have to know how to structure these things to work and work they do. You also need to have the talent to construct a show around it – from costumes to set design, lighting and sound – and then to deliver it, and Zach does this to a tee – from human to AI clone – he does it all very well. 4 stars Clayton Werner Someday We’ll Find It  plays  at Goodwood Theatre and Studios until Sun 17 Mar.  Book at FringeTIX and adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.  #TheClotheslineMag #ADLfringe