'autoplay' At Baxter Flipside: A Seductive, Surreal Wake-up Call

Dot Blake

The Baxter Flipside Theatre pulsed with kinetic energy and coded symbolism last night as Autoplay by Darkroom Contemporary took to the revolving stage for its final dress rehearsal and if this is any indication of what audiences can expect, buckle up for a visceral ride that is as hypnotic as it is unsettling.

Set in a future-now state, Autoplay blurs the line between human instinct and algorithmic obedience in a work that feels simultaneously ancient and futuristic. Under the direction of Louise Coetzer and with an arresting soundscape by Brydon Bolton, Inge Beckmann, and Njabulo Phungula, the production wraps movement, music, and metaphor into one surreal offering.

What struck most during last nights preview was how the technical finesse of Autoplay particularly its revolving stage and atmospheric lighting design has elevated Autoplay into something more than just dance.

The interplay of shadows, sudden light breaks, and cyclical stage movement felt like being inside a looping data stream, with the dancers as both subjects and symbols of our tech-drenched times.