Instructions for Correct Assembly at Fight Path Theatre: Review

I love Flight Path Theatre. Sorry - this is a show review, not a venue review - but this weird little showhouse squirrelled away in a community centre has hosted some of the most thought provoking and interesting shows I’ve seen, and Instructions for Correct Assembly is no different.

Also the alcoholic ginger beer is really good. Maybe a little too good. I’d put a warning up about alcohol potentially skewing my review of the show, but then I’d need to go back and do that for all my reviews and that’s a bit of a hassle.

For grieving parents Hari and Max, however, the biggest hassle they’ll have to face is piecing together and acclimatising their brand new AI powered son!

I am a massive believer that sci-fi is one of the best vehicles for prompting discussions about modern day issues. Taking ideas that exist today, and letting the ceaseless march of time dial them up past 100, is the perfect way to give audiences perspective on any concept, be they timeless or contemporary. 

Correct Assembly is doing exactly this - it’s a show that is looking at AI as we understand it today - the digital ouroboros plagiarising itself ad infinitum - and also a very, very old concept that’s been around for millennia: coping with grief. 

It doesn’t take a master ethicist to see the initial issues with this show as the play takes off and moves forward - things like the parents moving a new AI ‘child’ into the room of their deceased, previous child are rife with moral implications that are perfect for stewing over. What sort of expectations is this placing on the AI? What sort of expectations on the couples’ part is revealed by this behaviour?

I cackled in this show - a lot. Sorry, people near me. A lot of the cackling wasn’t even external though, there’s a morbid fascination on the part of the playwright here that quietly assures the audience - whatever line you think we won’t cross, we probably will.

Deeply sad and deeply funny, you’d be hard pressed to leave a different show with more on your mind. It’s a concept ripe for exploration, and director Hailey McQueen, alongside a stellar cast, have more than done it justice.

5 Stars!

Instructions for Correct Assembly plays until June 5. Grab Tickets Here!