What’s in a name

“They listen to us,” a character observes late in Alan Ayckbourn’s 92nd play, The Trial of Romeo Oscar. “They” are androids, and “we” are humans, and the character’s point is that while we’ve stopped listening to each other and to our heritage, androids are still learning us up. Which is all why – SPOILER ALERT! – when the search is on for an actor who can play Juliet the humans auditioning are all terrible and the only decent actress to be found is android Hermione Quinque (Olivia Woodhouse) currently serving drinks in the bar upstairs, lured to the performance by a promise that a top agent will be present. Actors! The play is, in other words, a plea for the arts. The plot, working from (possibly flawed) memory: it’s 2194, and soldier robot RSDO83 – Romeo Sierra Delta Oscar (Richard Stacey) – has been found severely water-damaged alongside a 13-year-old girl who has been stabbed to death on the otherwise desolate 11th moon of Uranus. Since the robot is somewhat functional – its audio…