Tonight is opening night at the Theatre Centre and the premiere of Game of Life, an ambitious two-part experience from the acclaimed performance collective bluemouth inc. Running from March 27 to 29, the world premiere combines live theatre and interactive technology to explore mortality, memory, and human connection in a way that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Bluemouth Inc. is an incredible Toronto theatre company. I still tell people about experiencing one of their productions during the Pan-Am Games in Toronto. A production that involved a long-unwinding story while on a walk from a dock on the Toronto Islands to a hall that audience members decorated for a wedding. It was mind-altering.
The Game of Life is inspired by the very personal story of bluemouth inc. founding artist Lucy Simic, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2018. The production unfolds in two parts: Elephant, a participatory performance set at a dinner party, and Lucy AI, an immersive installation with an AI-driven version of Simic that audiences can interact with in real-time.
“We were awarded a grant to develop a new project, and as our work is usually inspired by personal stories, it was inevitable that Elephant would draw from this crisis,” Simic explains. “Lucy AI came later when my close friend David Usher asked my husband, Stephen O’Connell, and me to collaborate on an AI project. We created an avatar using my voice, my memories, and images Stephen had shot over the years to tell a new kind of story.”
Both parts of Game of Life grapple with the compelling themes of time and mortality, but in very unique ways.
Elephant invites audiences to join a dinner party where friends react to Simic’s diagnosis in their own ways, revealing how facing death can bring clarity to what truly matters.
“Time becomes more precious,” Simic reflects. “You are reminded of what you really want to be doing with your life and maybe stop focusing on things that don’t matter.”
Meanwhile, Lucy AI offers an innovative approach to memory and legacy, creating an AI version of Simic that answers audience questions in her own voice, with cinematic imagery projected onto surrounding walls. “It’s a way of recording memories,” she says. “It’s not a documentary—it’s personal, but told in a poetic way.”
Elephant is all about spontaneous engagement with conversation, music, and dance, but Lucy AI offers a more introspective experience.
“Imagine a group of friends who are dancers, actors, and musicians hosting a party,” Simic says of Elephant. “As the evening progresses, things get personal, maybe heated, but then the guitars come out, and everyone’s feeling good.”
By contrast, Lucy AI is more intimate. “You can ask questions or just observe,” Simic explains. “Everyone hears the answers, and the stories unfold in unexpected ways.”
After five years in development, including pandemic-related delays, Simic and bluemouth inc. feel the time is right for Game of Life to meet an audience.
“The piece is ready,” she says. “And The Theatre Centre is the perfect place for it—they’ve been our home in Toronto for decades. Plus, they let us take out the risers!”
As for what she hopes audiences take away?
“I hope people reflect on what truly matters to them and deepen their resolve to pursue that direction,” Simic adds.
Following its Toronto debut, Game of Life will travel to La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival in New York City from April 10 to May 4.
Do not miss this show!