This show from Singaporean youth theatre, Conundrum, punches well above its weight. The script is by Australian playwright Sophia Simmons and takes place in a world where humans and AI robots live cheek by jowl, overlorded by a slick Elon Musk-type, whose curiosity for technological progress has led him out of his depth. It might take a beat to tune into the rhythms of the young cast’s performances, but boy do they attack this play with verve. Shanti Solomon and Maruchi White stand out as the play’s star (or rather wire)-crossed lovers, but the whole ensemble are tight under Claire Glenn’s direction.

The script isn’t perfect, and is at times too on the nose, explaining its themes in passages of exposition. But Simmons also sets up wry showdowns between humans and robots trading insults (‘flesh bag’, ‘beep boop’), and taps into the anxious identity politics of the young. She also cleverly unravels the ways in which humans and cyborgs have already overlapped, with humans quantifying their dopamine levels to measure contentedness, and smart technology household robots attempting to tell jokes on demand, a la Siri or Alexa. It all gets a bit messy and melodramatic towards the end. But these are young creatives grappling with real-time existential questions. And we should pay attention. 

Conundrum Theatre: Only Human, theSpace Triplex, until 10 August, 10.55am; main picture: Sophia Simmons.