We’re thrust into a digital archive in Melbourne, where a human worker (Williams) deletes people’s unwanted memories under the noses of dancing robot overlords. And the climax is a poignant duet between a programmer (Martin) and a freshly minted childhood education android (Williams) which – like Blade Runner and the Pygmalion myth before it – probes the relationship between creator and creature, the problem of consciousness, and whether being “human” is more about how you’re treated than any quality you may possess that’s outside your control.
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Martin and Williams are especially fine in the closing scenes, but the acting is strong across the board – sensitively tuned to conflicts arising from our use (and abuse) of tech, from the curse of big data and surveillance culture to the wonder, and the threat, of AI.
Lo-fi but evocative design elements – Silvia Weijia Shao’s versatile set, Tomas Gerasimidis’ highly differentiated lighting, Lili Wymond’s glitchy sound, Ami Salinas’ static-filled projections – create three totally distinct sensory panels for the actors to play within.
A brisk and thought-provoking, funny and ultimately moving sci-fi production from an indie company worth watching.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead
This review was written from a preview
MUSIC
Impressions of Paris X MSO ★★★★
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Hamer Hall, October 23
A young Venezuelan conductor and a young English pianist born without his right hand walk into Hamer Hall. The result? An energising, life-affirming program with two famous works by Parisian composers.
Pianist Nicholas McCarthy and conductor Rodolfo Barráez at Impressions of Paris x MSO on October 23, 2025Credit: Laura Manariti
Rodolfo Barráez, only 31 but already in demand across the globe, directed the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra with infectious enthusiasm in César Franck’s Symphony in D minor and Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with soloist Nicholas McCarthy.
Before leaving for Paris, the premiere of Newport Lakes by James Henry, MSO First Nations Composer in Residence, gave the audience a touching evocation of somewhere closer to home. For the most part, Henry’s score intrigued the ear with its gentle but quickly changing harmonic and instrumental colours, including his interesting underscoring of bass passages with tuba contrasting with harp and high percussion.
McCarthy brought impressive confidence and flair to Ravel’s Concerto, dazzling those present both with his stunning technique and touching pianistic poetry, especially in the dizzyingly difficult cadenzas. Both he and Barráez did their best to mitigate the work’s passages of heavy-handed orchestration that at times threaten to overwhelm the solo contribution.
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From the murky opening through the jazz-infused central section and the reminiscences of Bolero, the orchestral playing was consistently colourful and included many perfectly pitched cameos including those by principal bassoon Jack Schiller and principal trombone José Milton Vieira.
Barráez charmed the orchestra into a particularly sensual, adrenalin-fuelled account of the Franck Symphony. Abundant, impassioned surges of sound that pointed every phrase in the outer movements were offset by the delicate pizzicato and harp-writing in the second movement, surmounted by Michael Pisani’s haunting cor anglais melody. Such a rapturous performance can only raise hope that Barráez will return to Melbourne soon.
The maestro’s ardour and McCarthy’s single-handed determination left listeners with more than musical inspiration.
Reviewed by Tony Way
