Networks

M is the most useful assistant you have ever met. He will organise your diary, your new job, even your sex life. There’s just one catch: once M enters your life, he never leaves. And he wants to know absolutely everything about you. M is the smartphone we all carry in our pockets: an object that allows the world’s biggest companies to track our every move and make billions from our data; an object we spend ever more time on, often even more than with those closest to us. In 2026, for young professionals like Lucy and Sam, it’s the price of living. But their parents, Joe and Didi, have had enough of this dubious deal. They decide to stand up to the influence of modern technology and forge their own, surprising path through life. Jeff James says: “When I first read Kate Atwell’s witty and cutting satire about our toxic relationship with smartphones, what makes it so powerful is that the play clearly says what we all feel but don’t dare say out loud. We are becoming ever more dependent on these technologies, and they are demanding an ever higher price. With dark comedy and the precision of a scalpel, Kate’s play analyses how we live today. I’m delighted to bring this timely and very witty production to Valmiera for its European premiere.”