Girl in the Machine

Cork Arts Theatre presents

Girl in the Machine
By Stef Smith
Directed by Éadaoin Fox

Polly and Owen, a couple in their thirties, have life sorted. But when Owen presents overworked corporate lawyer Polly with a newly released headset ‘Black Box’ to help her relax, Polly slides into a potently seductive, potentially deadly, virtual world.

While Polly grapples with her addiction to ‘Black Box’, outside civil protests grow as the population rebels against the new technology and its increasing hold on human life. And as the future of man and machine become intertwined, Polly and Owen are forced to confront what it means to be human and to question whether they share the same understanding of reality and freedom.

Thought provoking and chilling, Girl in the Machine presents the potential pitfalls of careering headlong into a digitally enhanced future and it chimes with our contemporary unease at the march of technology.

Girl in the Machine is the third and final of Cork Arts Theatre’s Re:Directing programme 2026, a series of contemporary plays platforming Cork theatre directors, produced in-house and funded by The Arts Council.  


CAST
Isolde Fenton as Polly
Stefan Brennan-Healy as Owen
Amber Deasy as Voice of Black Box

CREATIVE TEAM 
Director: Éadaoin Fox 
Set and Lighting Designer: Aedín Cosgrove
Sound Designer: Daniel Montague O’Brien
Costume Designer: Valentina Gambardella
Stage Manager: Emely Tenhagen


Girl in the Machine premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 2017

'gripping two-hander, a piece of dystopian sci-fi in the manner of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, flesh-and-blood humanity is not easily contained' ★★★★ - Guardian

'beautiful... intimate... chilling' ★★★★ - The List

'Girl in the Machine is undoubtedly thought-provoking, emotionally haunting and genuinely revealing' ★★★★ - Broadway Baby


Running Time: 70 min | No interval
Age Recommendation: 16+
Content Guidance: Themes of mental health, addiction, and dependency.

Tickets: €22 | €18 | Booking fees apply.