In the not-so-distant future of Girl in the Machine, the lines of demarcation between human and machine have started to blur, and the desire to merge the two burrows its way into the characters’ skulls until it becomes, quite simply, irresistible.

In our own world, not so unlike the world of the play, our so-called reality is starting to fray at the edges – the lines of demarcation are also starting to blur and these same rigid confines that once separated human from machine have been smudged beyond recognition.

It is for this reason that Michael Richardson’s Girl in the Machine, much like the seductive Black Box that makes an appearance in the play, simultaneously appeals and terrifies us to such a degree.

Corporate lawyer Polly (Tina Rizzo) and her husband Owen (Gianni Selvaggi) – the protagonists of the play and the sole actors on stage – offer an intimate look into their lives and the reality they have shrouded themselves in. The setting of the play is the couple’s house, sparsely furnished and dotted with bottles of alcoholic beverages, playing cards and wine glasses.

Owen, played by Gianni Selvaggi.

Polly is immediately categorised as a stress-ridden workaholic, unable to shift her gaze from her phone or resist the beckoning of its notifications. Her husband, on the other hand, is presented as a direct contrast to Polly, scoffing at her dependence on technology and criticising his country’s use of ‘citizen-chips’.

It is apparent that they are both wildly in love with each other and the audience’s investment in the play hinges on the intensity with which they view their relationship unfold.

 In an attempt to relieve a fraction of his wife’s stress, Owen presents her with a neatly wrapped gift procured from the hospital where he works. Unwrapping the present reveals Black Box – new technology designed to alleviate anxiety by offering a significantly less stressful virtual reality to escape into.

Polly is initially sceptical of the new gadget but quickly becomes seduced by the blissful escapism it provides, so much so that she begins to favour the fabricated reality it offers to the flesh and blood alternative.

'Girl in the Machine' appeals to the posthumanist concerns of our contemporary world

Black Box, however, proves to be significantly more sinister than was initially believed. Promises of the blissful world it could provide trickle their way into the cracks of Polly’s skull and rattle against the hollow of her brain whenever she moves or speaks. She can no longer think about anything other than Black Box and the question that she knows it will inevitably ask: “Do you want to live forever? Yes, or no?”

With its emotionally charged lines and rapidly beating pulse, the play delivers a gripping insight into a potential future categorised by technological interference. The world that lies outside our limited view of the stage is reflected in Polly’s and Owen’s life, thus enabling the audience to focus on the couple’s private life rather than the disintegrating world and science fiction plot in the background of their deteriorating relationship.

The way the play depicts the passage of time, however, does not always deliver its desired effect, at times weaving intrigue into the scenes and at others simply having the effect of dampening the suspense.

It can also be argued that the dismal ending of the play is reached slightly prematurely; despite its powerful ending, its full emotional and horrific potential is not reached. This is due to the rather quick escalation of danger in the scenes concerning Black Box, and the full threat of the gadget’s potential never being fully explored.

What is particularly striking about the play is the lighting design by Matthew Gellel combined with the music and sound design by Matteo Depares and Alec Massa, the effect of which leaves the audience’s spine tingling and desperate for more of the stunning technological effects.

The minimalism of the setting can be credited to Isabel Warrington who, by cleverly making use of the small space and drawing the audience’s attention to the love triangle created between Polly, Owen and Black Box, brings the latter’s omnipresent and sinister presence to greater focus.

Rizzo and Selvaggi are the only actors on stage.

The prowess of Stef Smith’s writing is reflected in Rizzo’s and Selvaggi’s powerful stage presence and superb acting, delivering a play that is both compelling and memorable.

Different answers to the question Black Box poses are elicited by the protagonists of the play, forcing a divide between the two and paralleling the same divide that could potentially present itself as we view the world of the play from the safe distance of our theatre seats.

Girl in the Machine appeals to the posthumanist concerns of our contemporary world and attempts to answer the central question: what does it mean to be human? The merging of human and machine is a notion that, in the play, is unclear whether is successful or desired, because beyond the blissful faces of the characters who choose to answer Black Box’s question with a ‘yes’, we know very little of the seductive reality that it promises.

Girl in the Machine is being staged for one last time today at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta at 7pm. For tickets and more information, visit www. kreattivita.org.