Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on the jury in a court case? Do you want to be able to enjoy the drama of a courtroom unfold in front of you without the brutal realisation that you have the power to determine people’s fate? I wish I could say that The Jury Experience: Death by AI: Who Pays the Price? was able to do that and more, but it has far too many flaws that need to be fixed before it could accomplish what it’s setting out to do.

This interactive theatre performance had a lot of potential. The immersive experience began with an analogue video tutorial explaining the importance of jury duty—it was funny, quick and had me hyped for what was to come. But it was all downhill from here.

My first gripe is that the experience is simply inaccurate. The show failed to firstly inform the audience on what the charges entail and how they should assess the evidence to form a verdict like they would in real court. I don't even think the writers knew what the charges were because the lawyers made terrible arguments that had nothing to do with what the defendant was being charged with. Why are we arguing about utilitarianism when the case is about manslaughter? Lastly, the case is set in the US—specifically California—which led to constant accent slip ups from the actors (especially the judge who at some point flat out gave up with the accent).

Beyond the accent, the actors were overall mediocre—the two lawyers gave unoriginal performances and the judge acted like this was his final case before retirement. The show was saved by the victim’s wife’s moving performance. The subtleties in the changes of her facial expressions were pure talent and not an easy feat with a camera on her face, projected on the screen behind her. The defendant was also very good at playing the annoying tech bro, it almost felt too natural…

The show felt very amateur. Besides the obvious accent slip ups, there were multiple instances of the projector acting up, and when it was working, the animation and design were incredibly tacky. The costumes and set design did not really stand out, they came off a bit cheap looking and the stage seemed quite bare. All of these aspects are crucial to the immersion, and with none of them really working out, I felt incredibly aware of the fact that I am an audience member in Melbourne serving out jury duty in the US despite not even being a citizen of the country.

The fact that the venue was a proscenium arch theatre instead of a black box definitely did not help either. A more intimate space could have helped with making the set feel less bare and I would have at least felt closer to the action. Also, the Meat Market has a very specific Melbourne look going on that contrasts quite heavily to the American courtroom theme.

Although, I did find the ratio of audience interaction and performance quite good. There was a steady pace of really interesting questions that I just wished I had a little bit more time to discuss.

Despite its flaws, it was still a fun time for me and my friend to see how a bunch of theatre kids think court cases play out. In fact, I think the flaws made for a charming experience where you can just sit back and relax and not really think all that hard.

If you are looking for an incredibly accurate picture into what being juror looks like, I would not recommend this experience. But, if you are looking for something new to do with some friends and experience a new kind of theatre, there is definitely something between the accent and tech slip ups that can create an enjoyable experience.