Key Takeaways
- Day (After Day) in the Life of the Useless is a fast‑paced, dark comedy written and performed by Will O’Mahony for Black Swan State Theatre Company.
- The play is built from 35 short, titled chapters, each announced by bright‑yellow LED roadside‑style signs that help the audience track the relentless narrative.
- Central themes explore AI infiltration, authenticity, trust, and what it means to be human in an increasingly algorithmic world.
- Emily Dickinson’s verse “I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain” recurs throughout, underscoring the protagonist’s sense of perpetual free‑fall.
- A four‑person ensemble (Tess Bowers, Nathaniel Langworthy, Steve Le Marquand, Catherine Moore) plays every other role, executing rapid costume and character changes with precision.
- Direction by Adam Mitchell, sound by Ash Gibson Greig, lighting by Mark Haslam, and set/Fiona Bruce design create a cohesive, kinetic production that balances absurdity with emotional resonance.
- The show runs at the Heath Ledger Theatre until September 20 and has already sparked post‑show discussion as a “thought worm” for audiences.
A Romantic Opening That Falters into Farce
The production begins with a striking image: “Pete (Will O’Mahony) standing atop a cliff looking across an abyss to a backdrop depicting a painting of an untamed landscape.” This tableau openly references Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, yet the play instantly undercuts the Romantic gravitas. As the article notes, “Pete is no Romantic hero.” Instead, he is an everyman whose lofty solitude is soon shattered by a mundane, heartbreaking reality—his fiancée Tess Bowers dumps him just days before their wedding, branding him a “robot” in her parting shot.
AI‑Generated Advice and the Spiral of Missteps
Seeking solace, Pete turns to artificial intelligence for guidance and receives a rapid reply: “The best revenge is living well.” The AI’s 1.49‑second response is presented verbatim, highlighting the play’s slick integration of technology into everyday life. Yet, as the narrator warns, “If only it were that easy.” What follows is a “spectacular series of hilarious missteps” as Pete attempts to rebuild his life, only to lose his job, endure a fleeting romance, and become entangled in dubious money‑making schemes. Each misstep propels the narrative forward like a Catherine wheel, accelerating the sense that the world is spinning out of control.
Chapterised Structure and the LED Signage Device
The play’s architecture is deliberately fragmented: “It is structured as 35 short, carefully‑crafted chapters, with dialogue singing off the page.” Each chapter title is lifted from a line of dialogue within that segment and projected onto a bright‑yellow LED message sign—the kind familiar from roadside traffic warnings. This digital signage serves two purposes: it offers the audience a momentary breather to re‑orient, and it underscores the frenetic, stop‑start tempo of Pete’s ordeal. As the review observes, “The signs also allow us a breather as the absurdity of Pete’s predicament intensifies.”
A World Populated by Suspected Robots
Amid the chaos, Pete begins to question the very nature of those around him. “He loses his job, his new girlfriend of two weeks gives him the flick, and he keeps getting caught up in dodgy schemes to try and make money. The world has become alarmingly weird and people are behaving strangely. Pete suspects they might actually be robots.” This paranoia drives the central existential inquiry: in an age where AI can mimic human interaction, how do we discern authenticity? The article captures this tension by quoting the play’s own probing questions: “Who can we trust? Is authenticity as we know it redundant? Are we redundant? Is there a moral compass to guide us? Are relationships transactional?”
Dickinson’s Verse as a Structural Motif
To deepen the metaphysical unease, O’Mahony weaves Emily Dickinson’s poem I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain throughout the production. The poem’s haunting closing lines—“And I dropped down, and down-/And hit a World, at every plunge,/And Finished knowing-then-”—are recited, spoken, and even sung as a lullaby by various characters. The lingering “then” mirrors Pete’s perpetual free‑fall, “caught in a world that won’t keep still, and is in a constant state of becoming.” The review notes that this verse also reflects the play’s restless movement from scene to scene, keeping audiences “on the edge of our seats wondering what comes next.”
Ensemble Mastery and Rapidity of Change
While Will O’Mahony carries the titular role, the storytelling rests on a versatile quartet. Tess Bowers, Nathaniel Langworthy, Steve Le Marquand, and Catherine Moore “play all the other characters (I lost count of how many).” Their ability to execute “insanely quick changes” and land “fully‑formed in every scene as well‑defined characters” is singled out as a highlight. An audience member’s comment at the final bows—“Were there only four actors?”—underscores the illusion of a much larger cast, a testament to the ensemble’s dexterity and the production’s tight choreography.
Design Elements that Amplify the Madness
Rhiannon Walker’s costume design provides visual anchors amidst the whirlwind. Subtle details—“mismatched shoes or a missing sleeve”—become “delicious” cues that signal character shifts without slowing the pace. Director Adam Mitchell crafts a flow and rhythm that lets the script’s “free‑ranging expansiveness” breathe, supported by Ash Gibson Greig’s sound, Mark Haslam’s lighting, and Fiona Bruce’s sparse yet purposeful set. The review likens this harmony to another Dickinson line: “It is enough, the freight should be/Proportioned to the groove,” suggesting that every technical element is precisely weighted to serve the narrative’s momentum.
A Moving, Thought‑Provoking Finale
From lights up to the final bow, Day (After Day) in the Life of the Useless balances “seriously funny” moments with unexpected poignancy. The post‑show buzz on opening night indicated that the piece would linger as “a bit of a thought worm for audiences,” prompting reflection on AI, identity, and the fragile nature of human connection. The production’s limited run at the Heath Ledger Theatre extends until September 20, offering theatergoers a chance to experience a work that, as the article declares, is “a firecracker comedy, exquisitely handled.”
https://theconversation.com/is-everyone-a-robot-will-omahonys-new-play-is-a-sharp-funny-plunge-into-our-ai-world-289518