Beautiful and Creepy: A Your Name Means Dream Review

Anne O’Sullivan and Sara Koviak in Your Name Means Dream at TW Hartford; Photo by Mike Marques

TheaterWorks Hartford's production of José Rivera’s hilarious and sobering play, Your Name Means Dream, is the story of a 74-year-old recluse named Aislin who is forced to face the events of her life that led her to her present loneliness. In Aislin’s story, Rivera hands us all a mirror, offering us an opportunity to reflect on our own relationships, against the backdrop of an individualized culture and the rise of technology standing in as representatives turned replacements for roles humanity once filled.  

With a husband long gone, an estranged son, and no friends to speak of, Aislin (Anne O’Sullivan), an elderly Irish Catholic woman, finds herself recalling the time of her life in the company of a service bot named Stacy (Sara Koviak) who has a past of her own. Stacy is charged with looking after Aislin, a task that proves difficult as Aislin is obstinate in general and skeptical of artificial intelligence in particular.

This story tackles themes of humanity such as age and elder care, family, technology and ethics within the field, and the very prevalent themes of loneliness and life before death. Rivera asks: “What makes beautiful, beautiful?”--A recurring question within the story. But beneath the surface, we are also asked to consider what makes a human, human. While we sit with the question of whether or not a robot can know love by merely understanding the concept, we are forced to ask if we have ever truly known love ourselves, or if we are resigned to merely understanding it conceptually. 

The two-woman cast phenomenally portrayed the unseen layers of the production representing characters not shown and pulling on the emotional range required to transition from joy to grief to the contemplation in between. O’Sullivan is dynamic, hitting every nuance her role requires with grace, and Koviak is a firecracker with impeccable comedic timing. 

Misha Kachman’s set design, a tiny, visibly worn New York apartment with signs of the life of a shut-in creates a realistic backdrop for the unfolding narrative of Aislin’s circumstances. The lighting and sound designs of Yichen Zhou and David Remedios emphasize the shifts in the story, accenting Stacy’s presence in the home.

Your Name Means Dream requires that you suspend your disbelief and notions regarding robotic speech and movement and lean into what is shown. Still, there is plenty to take away from this production, including loads of laughs and inspiration to reconnect with the ones you love. 

Your Name Means Dream runs through July 6th. For tickets, visit twhartford.org