Current/y – Coronet Theatre

Current/Y is a genuinely interesting but uneven 50-minute piece exploring our relationship with AI, social media and algorithms. Some sequences offer a genuinely sharp commentary on human experience in the age of technology; others remain so opaque throughout that it becomes difficult to understand what is being watched.

Taiwanese dancer Chen Yi performs with motion capture, while an avatar appears on the screen behind her. The opening sequence sees the avatar multiply, followed by a largely silent interaction between performer and screen. Without much framework, it is difficult to know what this interaction is meant to convey: the plurality of our internet presence? Our lack of control over it?

The strongest sequence sees Chen Yi become an influencer selling beauty products. Her avatar rehearses for a live broadcast before an AI begins directing her: what to say, when to sell, when to apply the product. As the instructions become increasingly manic, the avatar deteriorates and the performer starts acting like a broken puppet. It is a clever, “show, don’t tell” commentary on the way technology can turn attention, self-presentation and even the performance of authenticity into something increasingly controlled, commodified and eventually dehumanizing.

Other sequences include a crypto salesman, a future humanoid influencer mixing spirituality with token language, and an online comment section featuring increasingly aggressive contributions. Together they sketch out different ways technology reshapes our behaviour, language and sense of self, feeding into the weakest parts of our consciousness, without necessarily forming a clear or rising dramatic arc.

The final image is perhaps the clearest: Chen Yi struggles to remove her motion-capture equipment before standing free, somewhat naked, for a moment and then suddenly collapsing. A beautifully poetic image of the weakening of our spine, and perhaps of the collapse of an overstimulated nervous system as technology becomes increasingly omnipotent.

There is clearly something powerful in Current/Y, and Chen Yi is a compelling performer. The piece would, though, benefit from offering more framework to its more abstract sequences. At times, it feels less like the audience is being invited into an experience, and more like they are expected to already speak its language.

Reviewer: Klervi Gavet

Reviewed: 17th September 2026

North West End UK Rating: