{"id":161833,"date":"2024-11-01T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T23:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=161833"},"modified":"2024-11-01T09:00:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T23:00:22","slug":"your-name-means-dream-red-stitch-actors-theatre-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/your-name-means-dream-red-stitch-actors-theatre-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Name Means Dream (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre) – theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just how far can artificial intelligence take us? Can it deliver genuine companionship and more for the lonely, elderly and ailing? Those questions are answered in the resounding affirmative by playwright Jose Rivera in his dramatic and comedic work Your Name Means Dream. Aislin (Caroline Lee), of Polish Irish extraction (and whose name means dream in Irish), lives in a rundown apartment in Manhattan. Soon to turn 65, she isn\u2019t in the best of health. She drinks, takes pills and has questionable food choices.<\/p>\n

An acerbic widow, surprisingly she used to be a human resources head. Still mourning the death of her husband, she has a prickly relationship with her son Roberto (who we don\u2019t meet), to whom she signed over the power of attorney. Roberto recognised that his mother needed someone to look after her, but five carers quit on her in the past year. So it is that he taps into a pilot program to provide her with a humanoid robot named Stacy (Lucy Ansell), who for the most part looks and feels real.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photos by James Reiser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While at first Aislin is cynical and derogatory, she becomes increasingly dependent upon Stacy, who is good looking, smart and intuitive. Mind you, it doesn\u2019t take much to wind up Aislin and she still frequently lashes out at Stacy. For her part, Stacy is tied specifically to Aislin and when Aislin passes away, Stacy will be decommissioned and her parts used elsewhere. That is, of course, if Aislin doesn\u2019t decide to rid herself of Stacy in the meantime. And there is also the fear that Stacy could be hacked by a radical vigilante group.<\/p>\n

Rivera, who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) examines the decreasing divide between man and machine. In that regard it is an eye-opener. I was reminded of Elon Musk\u2019s unveiling of the bot Optimus, with its remarkable conversational interactions, only last month. Your Name Means Dream is a potent combination of venom, yearning and heartache. But there is also a good swathe of humour in the work. Stacy is an automaton who genuinely appears to care.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The performances are mighty potent and the strong chemistry between Caroline Lee and Lucy Ansell is apparent from the get go. In a fine turn, Lee brings a surly disposition and real attitude to Aislin, with a great deal of vitriol pouring out of her. Ansell\u2019s ability to \u201cinhabit\u201d the robot and exude \u201cher\u201d full range of skills, including a litany of accents, is extremely impressive. During the course of proceedings, she also voices Roberto and historic figures.<\/p>\n

There is a great deal of verbiage for both players to get their heads around and they deliver in spades. Also noteworthy is the creation of the dilapidated home in which the action takes place, with paint peeling from the walls. The set and costume designer is Hanhie Goldfinch. Director Kat Henry ensures that Your Name Means Dream moves along at pace. One hundred minutes plus internal, it is energetic, entertaining and thought provoking. It is on at Red Stitch Actors\u2019 Theatre until 24th <\/sup>November, 2024.<\/p>\n

Alex First<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just how far can artificial intelligence take us? Can it deliver genuine companionship and more for the lonely, elderly and ailing? Those questions are answered in the resounding affirmative by playwright Jose Rivera in his dramatic and comedic work Your Name Means Dream. Aislin (Caroline Lee), of Polish Irish extraction (and whose name means dream…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[801],"tags":[6405,21,3,50,8825,294,10722],"class_list":["post-161833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-caroline-lee","tag-comedy","tag-drama","tag-jose-rivera","tag-lucy-ansell","tag-red-stitch","tag-your-name-means-dream"],"yoast_head":"\nYour Name Means Dream (Red Stitch Actors' Theatre) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/your-name-means-dream-red-stitch-actors-theatre-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your Name Means Dream (Red Stitch Actors' Theatre) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just how far can artificial intelligence take us? Can it deliver genuine companionship and more for the lonely, elderly and ailing? Those questions are answered in the resounding affirmative by playwright Jose Rivera in his dramatic and comedic work Your Name Means Dream. 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Pain. Emotional connection. Desire. Sexual kinks. Consent.\u00a0That is US writer Clare Barron\u2019s Shhhh, which has its Australian premiere at Red Stitch Theatre.\u00a0Bold, confronting and, on occasions, perplexing, it is a play that concerns itself with sexual assault, rape culture, mental and physical wellbeing, and the sisterhood. 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The mine was shut down in 1966.\u00a0Wittenoom, the play \u2013 a work of fiction \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rsz_wittenoom008-min.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rsz_wittenoom008-min.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rsz_wittenoom008-min.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rsz_wittenoom008-min.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166431,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/super-red-stitch-actors-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":161833,"position":4},"title":"Super (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"June 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I went to watch this play, like I do all others, without knowing anything other than its title. I never read the blurb on the website about what I am heading into, nor the program, which sometimes has playwright and director\u2019s notes. In fact, Super\u2019s program does contain playwright Emilie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rsz_super_productionimage_approved8.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rsz_super_productionimage_approved8.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rsz_super_productionimage_approved8.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rsz_super_productionimage_approved8.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136747,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-cane-red-stitch-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":161833,"position":5},"title":"The Cane (Red Stitch Theatre) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"April 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Power and control shift constantly in the drama The Cane, which is set in England.\u00a0On the verge of retirement after 45 years in the job, Edward (Dion Mills) is a deputy school head.\u00a0It is Sunday and his wife, Maureen (Caroline Lee) \u2013 who also used to be a teacher \u2013\u00a0has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/rsz_hooded.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/rsz_hooded.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/rsz_hooded.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/rsz_hooded.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}