Sister Lines - Theatre Review

 Hope Theatre, London

★★★

Sister Lines is a show that delves into a world of grief, sisterly bond and the increasingly ominous presence of AI and technology not only in life, but also in death.

After getting diagnosed with cancer, Andi chose for her conscience to be transferred to an AI database, a system called Echo, which would recreate her person after her death. Elaina, her beloved sister, decides to visit the new technologically generated Andi on the one year anniversary of Andi's death. Unresolved traumas, loving memories and family secrets emerge, while trying to process mourning, change and the fragility of the human existence.

The AI system called Echo, guides the session through voice instruction, indicating when the model has an emotional overload and needs stabilisation. Even though she’s AI generated, Andi still reacts to the memories and conversation with her sister. Is that enough to make us and Elaina see her as human? She speaks and looks like Andi, has all her memories and opinions, but is that enough? She cannot even provide physical touch, one of the most basic human needs, like the original Andi. However, the most important question is: does it matter? A big corporation like Echo aims to profit from the pain and suffering of others, in which case the loss of a loved one. In our inability to move on and truly let go, even an AI copy is enough. Antonia’s text subtly leaves it up to the audience’s discretion and like Echo, simply guides us through a sisterly relationship that was cut short not once, but twice.

Rebecca Bidwell as Andi manages to balance excellently the differences between normal functioning model, where she banters and jokes as a sister does, and pure mechanical stillness, while the system tries to bring her back to her usual behaviour. Although recovering from a chest infection , she doesn’t let that affect her focus or her delivery. Going from a young girl to an adult on her wedding day, she finds some fascinating nuances and you truly believe how much she cares for Elaina.

Sonia Sabardeil as Elaina conveys the uncertainty and hesitation towards meeting her ‘technically dead, but not really dead’ sister. The character’s grief and mixed feelings, her longing for her lost sister and best friend and her confusion regarding the past are all so tangible. However, at times, it’s not clear when the actor's stress ends and where the character's vulnerable emotional state begins. It felt shaky and a bit repetitive, but her connection to Andi feels genuine.

There is a clear distinction between past and present, as Echo encourages Elaina to pick a few memories to be, in a way, re-lived with the new Andi. Harsh white light floods the stage  where Lena reunites with Andi, creating the sterile and mechanical environment, while a contrasting orange light is used for the memories’ recreation, signifying the warmth of their family bond and the sweet nostalgia of the past.

It’s a show that challenges you to question the extent to which we can trust technology in the face of loss. In a world that’s getting increasingly grey in its use of AI, Sister Lines brings into the equation the desperate need for remembrance and the irony of using AI to deal with the devastating weight of the most human condition of all: death.