Two stage shows in Factory Theatre’s fall season are exploring a topic on everyone’s minds—artificial intelligence and its possible repercussions for artists and workers.
I Don’t Even Miss You, on stage now until November 10, and Honey I’m Home, on stage from November 21-December 1, both fearlessly imagine what a future with advanced AI could look like. Factory Theatre’s Artistic Director Mel Hague describes the shows as “funny, timely and wickedly smart works from two groups of Canada’s hottest creators.”
I Don’t Even Miss You tells the story of Basil, a non-binary computer programmer who wakes up one day to discover they are the last person on earth. They enlist their virtual assistant to help them put together a 90s-inspired musical about their life…but the premiere doesn’t go as planned.
This dystopian solo show is written and performed by Elena Belyea, Artistic Director of Tiny Bear Jaws, a femme and queer-run Canadian theatre company. Belyea describes the show as “a TED Talk meets a pop concert meets the feeling you get when you watch one of your baby videos and know you can never be a kid again.”
View this post on Instagram
As Belyea developed the show over the past 4 years, AI technology has advanced significantly—including its ability to produce art. Belyea understands first-hand how this new technology can feel like a threat to creators. At one point, feeling stuck on the final section of the show, they asked ChatGPT to write a scene for I Don’t Even Miss You.
“The good news is I don’t have to quit my job yet, because the scene wasn’t very good,” says Belyea. “The bad news is that I think that’s probably only a few months? Years? Away.”
Despite these fears, at the heart of the show is a story about humanity—and what that looks like in a world without humans.
“Basil begins interacting with AI because they want company. In the absence of other people, they try to figure out whether a digital companion could be ‘enough’,” Belyea explains. “By including a non-human character, the audience can decide for themselves whether that substitute would be adequate for them.”
View this post on Instagram
Later this month at Factory, a local duo explores a futuristic twist on remote work with Honey, I’m Home. “It’s a searing, terrifying and hilarious piece of science fiction from an almost possible premise: what if instead of working from home, you could send your body to work and your mind stayed home, on the cloud? Obviously, chaos ensues,” says Hague.
Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton of Toronto-based theatre company Lester Trips created this darkly comedic sci-fi show following Janine, a worker who uploads her consciousness to the cloud to escape her mundane job, until a slow wi-fi connection leads to a shocking discovery. The show is said to combine physical theatre and sharp humour, investigating the surreal realities of life in a digital hellscape.
But how do plays about a digital world translate to a physical space? Exploring these topics on a stage, in a room full of people, can encourage audiences to consider the profound human impacts of AI and rapidly advancing technology. Hague explains that both of these works explore technology in action, rather than abstraction.
“They combine digital technology – projections, chatbots etc. – with analog forms – voice, movement, song. This mix reflects not just how technology looks or works, but how it actually feels to be a person in this work,” she says.
Hague concludes that the shows in this season at Factory will give audiences a lot to talk about long after they leave the theatre.
“I think they would make a great third date, grab a drink, see a show and show them you know what’s unique and different in Toronto.”
See I Don’t Even Miss You and Honey I’m Home on stage this month at Factory Theatre.
Follow Us On Instagram
