AiTopia is the inaugural production from The Collective, a new theatre company formed by 50 multidisciplinary artists from Lambeth and Southwark through the Young Vic’s Taking Part program. Directed by Michelle Payne, this world premiere explores a self-governing community where an AI-driven afterlife promises peace but unveils hidden costs as families grapple with grief and humanity. A Youngish Perspective holds this exclusive dialogue with the director Michelle Payne.
What inspired the concept of AiTopia
AiTopia was a concept fully realised firstly by our writing team of 11 participants. We actually started with a concept pitched by our sound & lighting team about a community under surveillance and quickly the writers realised a dystopian future was the perfect way to tell this story. We wanted to feature a community with the best intentions and wanting to use technology for good, getting it wrong and then explore how they cope with the aftermath.
How did you approach creating a dystopian world exploring technology’s impact on human relationships?
We did quite a lot of research with different teams researching different areas. This is the great thing in having so many participants, we could divide research up to get more information in the time we had. A great example is sound & light team focused on what technology sounds like and the light it emits. The writers created a list of rules for the world based on their themes in their doors and ensure the world was as cohesive as possible. The actors were also given research tasks for their characters as we moved into the rehearsal period. We explore grief, bereavement, child loss, suicide, class/socio-economic issues all alongside the day to day addition of AI technology.
The Collective is described as a company pioneering new models of theatre-making. Could you share how the collaborative process influenced the development of AiTopia?
To be honest, we didn’t really know what the process of the collective would actually look like at point of recruitment. We did know however that we need it to be about the personalities coming together to make the project and recruited our participants with this in mind. We only then knew it should be led with patience and kindness on all sides and we needed to communicate how these values were to be upheld throughout.
It was scary as a director to let things play out in real time to see where someone else’s ideas might go. It was liberating when this paid off and I was able to advise further, hone and finesse!
I really do see a piece of everyone involved in this production and I’m so grateful to the generosity and creativity of our participants and the wider professional team.
How does AiTopia reflect the current conversations around defunding the police and the role of AI in society?
When the team started writing, AI was becoming very accessible but not as far along as it is now – we know that this technology is learning and progressing every day! 8-months down the line and at show week, this story – that once felt futuristic – is now very present! As a woman and leading a very diverse team of participants, we naturally have our reasons to want to challenge law and the police force in this country but don’t necessarily have all the answers! We hope our work, political with a small p, is able to address the real world impact on individual characters in their day to day lives and the feelings that we have in our own very real lives.
The production involves over 50 multidisciplinary artists from Lambeth and Southwark. What has been the most rewarding aspect of working with such a diverse creative team?
I love this group of people! They have challenged myself and Alisha (lead producer) and we are most definitely better leaders and creatives because of them. Every person involved has contributed and thoroughly bought into this world. They’ve jumped into AiTopia with both feet and their whole chest and I will always remember how they made myself and each other feel as we hit show week with an idea they all built from the ground up. Huge thank you to our creative consultants Chris Tendai (movement), Natalie Pryce (set + costume), Matt Greaves (sound + composition), Emma Denis-Edwards & Shereen Jasmine Phillips (dramaturgs), our wonderful stage management mentors Abi Morris & Valentina Cutri, as well as the brilliant in-house Young Vic Team – George, Neil, Cat, Rachel for supporting.
AiTopia is described as both a thriller and a poignant exploration of grief and humanityll. How did you balance these emotional themes within the narrative?
This was really hard – especially with the contrast of technology and the binary of that. Also the balance of not tipping it into the cliche of human robots or making a terminator style story. We tried our best to keep it rooted as close to our current reality as possible and focused on character moments and hitting really clear images about what gets left behind and what goes onto live forever.
With AiTopia being the first production from The Collective, what do you hope audiences take away from this experience, and what’s next for the company?
I firstly hope the audience feel proud of this local community and what they’ve achieved. Id like them to remember to cherish the love they have in their life and live with them in the present moment!
In terms of projects created by The Collective, we might need to be a one hit wonder – it’s definitely time for a well earned rest! I’d predict that next for The Collective is each participant taking what they’ve learned throughout this project back out into the world. I know the skills they’ve gained and improved upon will inform their future contributions to the world, either through their own art or in day to day interactions.
