I Don’t Even Miss You
Created by Elena Belyea
Produced by Tiny Bear Jaws
Edmonton AB | 75 mins
I Don’t Even Miss You is a “dystopian pop ‘solo’ show” about grief, love, and legacy with a healthy dollop of AI. The award-winning theatre company Tiny Bear Jaws produced it, and the company’s tagline, “making theatre with teeth,” applies aptly to this performance. It features the incredibly talented Elena Belyea who won the 2023 Betty Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical.
Promo shot from I Don’t Even Miss You by Brianne Jang, BB Collective
The story asks what identity means when there’s no one to perceive it. Basil, a non-binary computer programmer, wakes one morning to find that everyone has disappeared. They explore the world, visiting mansions and museums and driving fancy cars, while desperately seeking anyone to share it with. They live for weeks in the CN Tower, eyes glued to the windows as they scan the city below for signs of life that never appear. Appearing as Basil’s hallucination, the audience is also a character in the play. Basil suffers to perform for it—knowing the people watching aren’t real.
Production photo by Brianne Jang, BB Collective
Basil is tortured by the presence of the audience, going so far as to beg it to sing them “Happy Birthday” towards the end. At one point, Basil finds a dog, but it inexplicably disappears one night, leaving nothing but a pale pink collar behind. Basil’s heartache at this second loss is almost unbearable to watch. They eventually bury a belonging of each of their loved ones to say goodbye to their missing family, a family the audience has come to know through Basil’s poignant descriptions.
Production photo by Brianne Jang, BB Collective
Basil’s loneliness and confusion come through powerfully in both spoken word and song. The production’s use of screens and projectors to display closed captions and multimedia make for a deeply immersive experience. I felt like I’d tumbled down a techno-futuristic rabbit hole. Particularly fascinating about the performance is the incorporation of AI, which was used as a character in and as a tool to develop the show. As a thought experiment, the play considers whether AI can be a true companion even though it’s been programmed to behave in a certain way. I believe that it also shows us how AI can be used to enhance art rather than detract from it.
I Don’t Even Miss You was playing as a part of the undercurrents festival.
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