Paige Rattray Directs Eliza at the Melbourne Theatre Company

Tom Holloway’s gripping new play Eliza, directed by our client Paige Rattray, had its world premiere at Melbourne Theatre Company last week. Inspired by true events, the play is a gripping psychological thriller about the birth of AI, and the ethical consequences of outsourcing our humanity.

Dr Joseph Weizenbaum, a brilliant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, carries the trauma of a childhood fleeing Nazi Germany. When he begins testing a new computer program designed to simulate talk therapy, using details of the private life of his secretary Becky, the lines between code and connection begin to blur. As the project is lauded by his research assistant and colleagues, and wider interest in his breakthrough intensifies, Weizenbaum begins to question the true cost of his innovation.

The production has received excellent reviews, with critics praising Paige’s direction:

“Under Paige Rattray’s direction, the rapid-fire play unfurls at the brisk pace of a psychological thriller as a collective psychosis and breakdown of legibility takes hold of the characters in different ways, as they talk around one another without truly understanding each other.” ★★★★★ — The Age

“Melbourne Theatre Company’s world premiere production of Eliza is nimbly directed by Paige Rattray, and realised by a cracking cast of three and spot-on visual design.” ★★★★ — Limelight

Eliza is playing at Melbourne Theatre Company until 31 October 2026.

For more information and tickets, visit Melbourne Theatre Company.