A flat-pack idea that’s fit for Ikea

Instructions For Correct Assembly (Royal Court, London) Verdict: Occasionally malfunctioning

TO PLAy a robot on stage must be one of the more demanding tests for an actor. Brian Vernel gives it a good stab in the Royal Court’s new play, so far as it goes. But the show — which imagines a bereaved couple trying to re-create their dead son by buying a flat-pack human being — manages to feel both underwritten and repetitive, even though it is only 100 minutes long.

Director Hamish Pirie has assembled a decent cast: Jane Horrocks as the mother, Mark Bonnar as the dad. Their university student son Nick went off the rails and has died. Mr Vernel plays both Nick, in flashbacks, and Jan, the robot they have bought via mail order.

Jan occasionally malfunctions. The parents use a remote control to tweak his settings to modulate his character. If they push the buttons too far in one direction, they end up with a sweary Ukipper. If they go too far in the other direction, they end up with a preachy liberal. The play includes bad language.

When the neighbours come round, they are mildly amused while Jan is just a toy, but things become more awkward when this robot starts to be treated as a replacement child.

The spectacle is enlivened by some stage magic and a conveyor belt that takes props on and off, and may help to accentuate the impression that we humans are but items on a production line. That core idea could be brought out more.

Long before the end I was wishing we could put Jan back in his box and return him to Ikea.