Robot To Replace Australian Actor In Theatre Role

Tonight is the Australian première of the robot-starring play Sayonara: Android-Human Theatre in Melbourne's Fairfax Studio.

Orzo Hirata's play features both an android robot and human actor. It's previously been performed as a ten minute show in Japan and other countries, here it will be performed as a longer 20 minute play for the first time outside of Japan.

Android Geminoid F is a humanoid female robot that will perform with Canadian actress Bryerly Long. The robot's creator Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro told theMusic.com.au that Long also supplied the robot's voice: "Bryerly Long recorded her voice on the computer and the android Sayonara is speaking with Long's voice”

Ishiguro said that Geminoid F was modelled on a hospital worker he knew  (but “her identity is a secret") and that he has also made a replicate of himself, the Geminoid H1-1 (“it's like a twin brother”).

Many in the theatre world remain sceptical of using robots to replace actors. Earlier this year Australian Travis Cotton wrote the play Art Vs Robot, performed at La Mama,  which warned of androids replacing actors.

Ishiguro's beliefs may not allay these fears: “The actor and actress are kind of robots - they are very precise in direction, precise in order, how to move, how to speak. It's like a computer program. Maybe in the future half the actors and actresses will be robots.”

Sayonara: Android-Human Theatre is on Friday 24 August, 6.30pm and Saturday 25 August, 2pm and 5pm, Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. Hiroshi Ishiguro will also exhibit at Experimenta on at RMIT September 14 to November 17