Mike Winch, Nick Wilby, Navid Azeez (DJ Corey Photography)
In Pointless Theatre’s latest production, a blue-haired man named NAVI is the last person on Earth. Although the feel of .d0t:: a RotoPlastic Ballet is very post-apocalyptic, it isn’t because he’s alone in the world; NAVI is surrounded by artificial intelligence in the form of dozens of puppets, all helping him keep society running smoothly. The trouble only starts when one of these robots, named d0t, malfunctions and starts destroying everything NAVI has worked so hard to build.
.d0t:: a RotoPlastic Ballet is a brilliant fusion of past, present, and future. The aesthetic is largely based on the Italian Futurist art movement of the early 20th century. The d0t puppet copies one of artist Fortunato Depero’s paintings, with swinging arms to demonstrate the idea of moving “forward” and getting things done in a new industrial age. The numerous AI puppets pop up and run around a toy theater-style set, popular in England at roughly the same time as Futurism took off in Italy—think puppeteers racing around unseen under the stage while holding puppets up by sticks over their heads.
Apart from a couple of Daft Punk-looking musicians (Nick Wilby and Mike Winch), NAVI (Navid Azeez) is the only human on stage, and most of his monologue about the future is rapped and stylistically similar to the music in Hamilton. Political undertones arise when d0t infiltrates the core of the system, which is symbolized by what looks a lot like the Capitol Building, and builds a wall to keep others from getting in. Sound familiar?
Although it’s highly entertaining .d0t is probably one of the most pessimistic plays Pointless has ever done. As always, the research behind it is astounding, not only with art-historical references but with the idea of singularity, a moment in the (probably near) future when AI will dwarf human intelligence and take over the inner workings of the world.
Still, this effortless blend of science fiction and politics is not without precedent. Back in the 1930s, many Italian Futurists fell for the ideas of Mussolini’s fascism with its focus on the new order and efficiency provided by industrialization. We’ve been warned.
.d0t:: a RotoPlastic Ballet runs at Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint, 916 G Street NW, through May 6. Buy tickets here.
