Eideard

First there were dancing robots, then house-sitting robots and now a new breed of acting robots is making its big debut on the Japanese stage.

The play, which had its premiere at Osaka University, is one of Japan’s first robot-human theatre productions.

The machines were specially programmed to speak lines with human actors and move around the stage with them.

Playwright Oriza Hirata says the work raises questions about the relationship between humanity and technology.

Once you get away from the hustle, of course, you know the work raises questions about the relationship between humans and humans pretending not to be humans. That’s all.

Not that we have any shortage of robot-like actors.