Once thought to be purely science fiction, AI has become a part of our daily lives, and we know that we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential. What happens when its more militarized uses have a direct effect on the life of the creator? Produced in association with Theatre ARTaud, and directed by Mike Payette, Rouvan Silogix and Rafeh Mahmud’s CRAZE is an intriguing exploration of life and the unsettling presence of AI in the everyday.

Upon entering the theatre you’re met with a beautiful living room: marble floors, lush rugs, a Rothko style painting on the wall, and a tidy bar area. It’s clearly to be understood that the residents of this home are quite wealthy. It’s not what you see, but rather what you hear, that gives you a sense of uneasiness even before the play has begun. There’s a voice, calm and cheery, welcoming you into the theatre. Initially, it sounds like pre-recorded messages, which makes sense for a play about AI. It wasn’t until the voice mentioned something about a patron’s sock-monkey style hat that my ears really pricked up and had me on high alert. Whoever or whatever that voice is, it can see us, but we can’t see them. Realistically, we experience this every day; our phones listen in on our conversations constantly, providing us with targeted advertising. But there’s something particularly unnerving about hearing “I like your hat! Is it made of socks?” as said patron walks past you up the aisle, likely bemused themselves. This is a brilliant move by the creative team, as it puts you appropriately on edge for the rest of the play.

CRAZE is told in three parts: Part 1 “Tomfoolery and Other Shenanigans” closely resembles its source text, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Though in CRAZE the couples are far more forthright about the potential sexual nature of their encounter as well as their not-so-subtle racism. Part 2, entitled “The Trial (Ghosts Reign)” then begins to dip into the absurd, as one of the house guests feels plagued by the spirits of her ancestors, and the proverbial “ghost in the machine” decides to come out to play in real life. Part 3’s “Inferno” consists of non-linear flashbacks into the lives of the hosts, showing a series of events which has ultimately lead to the evening where the play began. 

CRAZE is certainly a thought-provoking piece of theatre; you’ll want to make sure you see this with someone else as you’ll certainly want to be talking about all of the ideas and issues presented in this production. However, while brimming with ideas it lacks a level of focus that we’ve seen from other shows written by Silogix and Mahmud. I found that there wasn’t as clear of a message as Caged Bird Sings, or even some of the other works I’ve seen lately about AI. I was puzzled by the ending, by the immediate acceptance of this entity into their lives, and yet that’s just where it ends – there’s no further discussion about it or consideration as to what it all means. It feels, in a way, that we’ve actually only witnessed Act 1 to this particular story, and that there’s another portion of the material that could bring some kind of meaning or closure to the events we’ve witnessed. 

Augusto Bitter gives a career defining performance in CRAZE. It’s their voice which you hear as you enter the theatre, and throughout the play they tug fiercely at our heartstrings. Ali Kazmi and Lisa Ryder have amazing chemistry as Renee and June; although they’re supposed to be playing a May-December relationship, I certainly didn’t get that vibe from their looks, but rather their actions. With the amount of animosity the two show one another, you’d have thought that their troubles began far sooner in their relationship than what the truth turns out to be. Louisa Zhu and Kwaku Okyere play Selina and Richie, the younger couple June has invited over for the evening. They have some pretty intense fight choreography which they flawlessly execute. Their chemistry is equally as dynamic with each other as it is with Kazmi and Ryder, making me almost disappointed that the evening didn’t turn out as June had intended. You can tell that everyone is putting their whole selves into telling this story; the moments of intensity take your breath away, yet the moments of levity or emotion are equally as impressive. 

The collaborative nature of this production certainly makes it a unique experience; you can see where the expertise and nurturing of the different companies came into play in the birthing of this work. I truly hope that CRAZE will get another life after this World Premiere run, where some of the questions and loose ends might be able to be tied up a little more neatly. Like the AI it’s portraying, CRAZE’s potential is boundless, it just needs to be harnessed.

CRAZE runs in the Mainspace at Tarragon Theatre until December 15. For more information and tickets, visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/current-season/now-playing/craze/

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Cover Photo: Lisa Ryder, Ali Kazmi, and Augusto Bitter. Photo by Roya DelSol.

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