REVIEW: TR[IA]L by Stuck in the Basement Productions at The White Bear Theatre 14 - 18 April
“A thoughtfully constructed production with strong design and performances” ★★★
Subject X wakes in a ClearMind facility, having apparently consented to participate in a clinical trial for an experimental dementia drug. With no memory of her past or how she arrived, she is subjected to a daily routine overseen by Supervisor Y, who administers a new dose and asks the same three questions. As Subject X begins to question the nature of the trial and her role within it, the play opens into a broader ethical dilemma, forcing her to confront a stark question: what does survival mean, and at what cost?
Rory Clarke’s set design is a particular strength. The stark, clinical environment - white walls, plastic curtain strips, and an ever-watchful CCTV camera - feels both controlled and quietly oppressive, effectively immersing the audience in Subject X’s confinement. Costume design is similarly assured: Subject X’s attire strikes a careful balance between futuristic and functional, while Supervisor Y’s lab coat and bespectacled appearance evoke a familiar archetype of the scatty scientist.
Macsen Brown delivers a standout performance as Supervisor Y, combining affable charm with an endearingly bumbling quality - a polished Hugh Grant rom-com persona with echoes of an over-eager holiday rep. He navigates the script’s tonal shifts with precision, allowing both its humour and its darker implications to land. Freya Popplewell gives a confident performance as Subject X, charting a clear emotional trajectory from vulnerability to suspicion, and ultimately to a more complex, morally ambiguous position.
Mercy Brewer’s debut script presents an intriguing premise but is hindered by its execution. Dialogue is frequently weighed down by exposition and dense clinical language, slowing the pace and diluting tension. Key ideas are over-explained beyond necessity. A tighter edit, and greater trust in the audience’s ability to follow the narrative, would significantly sharpen the pacing and impact.
TR[IA]L’s central concern - anxieties surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence, particularly the implications of sentience and self-preservation - is timely. However, its central argument - that an AI choosing its own survival as inherently problematic - feels underdeveloped. The play stops short of fully interrogating the moral complexity of this position, instead, instead presenting it in broad strokes. In a cultural moment rich with debate around AI’s potential risks and benefits, there is a missed opportunity to explore the subject with greater nuance and depth.
TR[IA]L is a thoughtfully constructed production with strong design and performances, but its thematic exploration remains surface-level, leaving it feeling more suggestive than provocative.
Box Office: https://www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk/whatson/tr%5Bia%5Dl
