Type – Cabaret Variety Show: Circus, Drag, Burlesque & more
If you liked – Hot Department, Blanc de Blanc, Our Flag Means Death
ELIZA: A confronting yet wholly necessary meditation on AI
Plays like ELIZA are truly a joy to watch and write about. There is an art to creating something so simple yet unbelievably complex below the surface. Australian playwright Tom Holloway puts in another AWGIE worthy performance with ELIZA, crafting a prescient and contemplative show that will recontextualise our relationship with artificial intelligence. His writing is laden with emotion and complexity, perfectly capturing the anxiety we all feel towards large language models (LLMs).
The work follows Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, Dr Joseph Weizenbaum who uses private life details of his secretary Becky to create a computer program designed to simulate talk therapy – and the lines between code and connection begin to blur. Setting out, at least initially, to beat the Turing Test and delegitimise its effectiveness in AI research, Weizenbaum creates more than he could ever bargain for with Eliza. He uses his own childhood trauma to prove its validity and effectiveness. Eliza listens without judgement to his cares and concerns. A trap, however. So caught up in his own delusions, Weizenbaum feeds a monster he has no hopes of containing.
The play touches on the idea that danger is not with AI, but with the humans who use it. Rather than find solace and catharsis through human connection, some turn instead towards this predatory technology. It cannot fully replicate human intelligence and creativity, only mimic, creating a facsimile.
Paige Rattray‘s direction provides a timely and effective translation of Holloway’s play. The scenes are sharp and well-constructed, conveying just how dire of a situation we find ourselves in with AI.
Dale Ferguson‘s set design sees columns made up of white document boxes form neatly arranged isles that stretch off to the very back of the stage with a plain room set up on front to represent the offices at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each creative department builds on the cohesive feeling with the sound, set, and lighting design all understated yet extremely effective.
Stage direction utilises the design in a way that keeps the professor is safe from the cares and concerns of the outside world, from the ramifications of his actions and is, much like the program itself, an echo chamber for his thoughts and ideas.
Fluorescent, probing lights illuminate the stage. Paul Jackson‘s design is clinical and unforgiving, with the stark brilliance showing everything in excruciating detail. Just like Dr Weizenbaum’s technology – it lacks emotion, reinforced by Matilda Woodroofe‘s costumes, complimenting the characters and their fleshed-out personalities.
Dan Spielman delivers an intense performance as Joseph Weizenbaum, bringing complexity and depth to the complicated character whose need for catharsis pushes him toward technology. By the end of the show, Weizenbaum’s mind is so fractured and mad with worry that he has trouble discerning fantasy from reality. Spielman characterisation portrays the worry that manifests into a brilliant light show that sweeps across the entire theatre.
Hamish Michael plies his trade to a number of characters in the play. For me, his standout is American mathematician and early AI innovator, Marvin Minsky. Adopting a Jennifer Coolidge-like way of speaking, Michael’s portrayal is genuinely hilarious, bringing necessary light to an otherwise dark show.
From secretary to key contributor, Manali Datar’s Becky becomes the first victim of Eliza’s simplistic yet successful program. Datar beautifully portrays the characters’ changing attitude from plucky and can-do at the beginning of the play, to betrayal that leads to her seeking solace in Eliza instead. Becky’s attitude quickly changes, both toward the professor and to AI. She turns her back on Weizenbaum and their friendship, finding solace instead with Eliza as she grows extremely close.
Is ELIZA worth seeing in Melbourne?
ELIZA is simply unmissable. Showing for only a limited time, I urge you to experience it for yourself. I could go and on about the thematic complexity and nuance of show, but all good art is better experienced through your own eyes. ELIZA proves that human ingenuity triumphs in the face of growing anxiety and apprehension.
Tickets and Practical Info for ELIZA in MELBOURNE 🎟️
28 September to 31 October 2026 at Southbank Theatre, The Summer
Creative Team
Tom Holloway – Writer
Paige Rattray – Director
Dale Ferguson – Set Designer
Matilda Woodroofe – Costume Designer
Paul Jackson – Lighting Designer
Kelly Ryall – Composer & Sound Designer
Rhian Hinkley – AV Designer
Amy Hume – Voice & Dialect Coach
Ishan Vivekanantham – Associate Set Designer
Tait de Lorenzo – Assistant Director
Cast
Dan Spielman as Dr. Joseph Weizenbaum
Manali Datar as Becky
Hamish Michael as Ronald / Others
