Eve Miller
Stampin’ in the Graveyard is the tale of Rose, an AI chatbot designed to guide you through the end of the world. The narrative coils around what has been, what might be, and what never will, as Rose draws on her dataset of worlds that have ended to try to generate a future. An ambitious immersive and interactive experience, this production blends technology, imagination, and a whole lot of heart.
Rose emerges from the husk of a computer to explain the production’s algorithm, how the audience can give her prompts by holding up hand gestures that correspond to options on the screen, thereby controlling where Rose takes us within her virtual world. There are multiple paths available to you on this journey, and yet the performance that I saw was a masterclass in polished and complete performance, hinting at a staggering commitment to and knowledge of the production from the whole creative team. Rose attempts to chart her lineage, scrabbling to build an identity as daughter by piecing together the memories of her creator-mother. She sparks between tales of love, infertility, forced migration, climate destruction, technological advancement, and familial estrangement, with the common thread being the idea of her world ending, be that literal or symbolic.
Co-creater and performer Elizabeth Gunawan entirely transforms as Rose, with the perfect imperfect AI cadence, and glitching movement that somehow manages not to feel overdone. They deliver an acrobatic, multi-faceted, and electrifying performance that entirely convinces, reeling in the audience as she flits between poetry, monologue, live music, and physical theatre.
The production and technical design is impeccable, with broken pieces of electrical appliances that illuminate in response to Gunawan’s touch, an interactive audiovisual projection with sound coming through headphones and subsuming the audience into Rose’s lonely virtual world. The most compelling parts of the production were those that allowed Rose to reach out towards her mother in an attempt of identity creation, as well as the sections that touched on climate crisis and consumerism, and the production would have benefited from the lingering on these themes a little longer – but maybe if we had made other choices, it would have.
Poignant, consuming, and utterly original, Stampin’ in the Graveyard is an intricate portrait of humanity through the eyes of AI, a technological feast for the senses that will leave you reeling.
Drinks recommendation: Wine, or soda, or water… whatever it is that humans drink.
You can catch Stampin’ in the Graveyard at Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall Arts from 31st July to 25th August (not 11th or 18th) at 12:15 (60 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
