Surpassing himself, Ayckbourn gives us a glimpse of his view of the future in the world of television.

The world premiere of “Comic Potential” is Alan Ayckbourn’s 53nd play in which he has got to grips with other people’s view of where the future is leading us. He uses it to see how human beings deal with their emotions whilst in the world of the acting environment. The play takes place in the foreseeable future when everything has changed except human nature.

Alan Ayckbourn strolls into the auditorium and sits down with the audience for a preview performance of his latest play and the lights go down. Onto the stage walks an Alan Ayckbourn clone, looking and dressed as its creator, but with a jarring American accent. We become aware that we are in a future television studio with the director sitting at his desk, with two assistants sitting at their consoles at either side of him. In front of them are characters acting out a scene from a television soap opera. All looks normal until the director stops the action. The actors are not all they seem they are androids known as Actoids.

Ayckbourn’s plays are not funny in themselves, but audiences seem to think they are and are in effect laughing at themselves. This is where the master craftsman excels himself as he is able to introduce the comic theme into this play on top of what some of the audience think is already there. The double take is explored throughout this production with great skill, making reference to the way it was done by actors from the past, such as Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy.

The director, with the help of his assistants, is able to adjust the emotions and actions of his actoids and they suddenly go back to where they started the scene and start again. During this Adam Trainsmith, played by Nicholas Haverson, a young man with pretensions to writing TV soaps, and nephew of the station's owner, arrives and gets involved with proceedings. Things have not gone well and the production staff leave the studio leaving an actoid called Jacie Triplethree, brilliantly played by Janie Dee, being recharged. To his surprise she responds to his words and then the plot unfolds. Do actoids have feelings and emotions? You will have to go and see this brilliantly conceived play to find out because you will not find out here. “Falling off the back of a lorry” has a whole new meaning after seeing this play. © BA

“Comic Potential” was at the Lyric Theatre, London from the 12th of October,1999 with different actors supporting Janie Dee.