Carving in Ice has a solid track record of verbatim theatre going back many years. The style involves reproducing interviews, performed through stage actors. So it’s very interesting to see how a work they’ve developed themselves plays out on stage, adapted alongside a larger study at Waikato University.

The broad topic is how technology, especially social media, frames our perceptions of death and what we leave behind. It covers a lot of scope, from memorial pages on social media to livestreaming of funerals through to more predictive issues such as AI recreations of the deceased.

The style, based on transcripts of facilitated online discussions with different participants, definitely translates well to the stage with the conversational back-and-forth flowing nicely. There are also a few nods to the glitches of vid calling which are neat little additions. Perhaps this could be leant into a bit further but that might conflict with the authenticity of the text. As a theatre piece, the production could definitely use editing, some of the sections becoming a little repetitive and the overall length being longer than needed.

Everyone in the cast is solid. It’s an ensemble piece, discussions and ideas unfolding. It’s a level headed discussion, so most of the acting is more subtle than intense, with some nice pauses, stutters and changes of track in thoughts. Director Gaye Poole has a knack for drawing out these contained performances and it’s a good sign when you occasionally have to remind yourself that the actor is not the person who originally said the words.

One of the points of discussion in the play is the difference between virtual interaction and being there in person and theatre is a good parallel to this, with the actors embodying the roles giving more weight through their presence. It’s an interesting topic and a good delivery method for discussion. With a little pruning and sculpting, it could have real restaging potential across the country.

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