Fast Forward - Lavinia Roberts

Fans of the TV show Black Mirror will love this low-budget dystopian vision of the future. Told in 6 short monologues and interwoven with another story, Fast Forward takes us into the world of tomorrow through the eyes of writer Lavinia Robertson.

Two of the stories are focused on the consequences of climate change (Wonders of the World, The Utility Bill), two on genetic engineering (The Whole Package, Eternal Devotion), one on artificial intelligence (Advanced Emergency Services), and one on social media (Zero Bond).

All of of the actors’ performances are enjoyable, especially the actor that played the robot in Advanced Emergency Services. This particular performance personifies every annoying automated phone system audiences may have experienced. Get ready to laugh through this monologue.

Even though the video was made with Zoom virtual backgrounds and there were some video editing problems, it’s not distracting. The writing was fresh and the stories clever. Viewers will remember these stories long after the 2021 Fringe Festival and hope they are performed live or get transformed into actual episodes of Black Mirror.