Instructions for Correct Assembly (Flight Path) ★★★½

Written by Thomas Eccleshare. Clock & Spiel Productions. Flight Path Theatre. 25 Jun – 5 Jul, 2025.

Parenting is hard. But what if you could build the perfect child from scratch and program it as you go? Instructions for Correct Assembly imagines a world of IKEA-style convenience, where artificial offspring are delivered flat-packed and ready to construct. Offering a fresh lens on the challenges of real-life parenting it makes you wonder, what if humans were as easy to reprogram as machines?

Hari (Nick Curnow) is thrilled to share his latest impulse buy with his wife, Max (Jane Wallace). A chronic DIY enthusiast, he’s ordered a top of the line android S.O.N. named Jån (Ben Chapple), to build in the garage. But this isn’t just another gadget. Hari and Max have styled Jån to look uncannily like their deceased son, Nick. And soon they realise Jån, just like Nick, is far harder to program than expected.

The best science fiction holds up a mirror to our world, reflecting our humanity through the strange and unfamiliar, whether it’s Star Trek, Black Mirror, or Severance. Instructions for Correct Assembly turns that mirror on family life, exploring the tension and tenderness of close relationships and the desire to perfect what can’t be controlled.

As we discover through flashbacks, for this family things fell apart when Nick went to university and started using drugs. It was a cycle they could never break, but in Jån they see a way to fill the gap in their lives and somehow undo the errors of the past.

Eccleshare’s script, relocated from the UK to Australia, is delivered by a strong cast—most notably Ben Chapple, whose dual performance as Jån and Nick is compelling. By giving Jån a slightly more childlike tone (without going full robot), Chapple makes the distinction between the two characters clear, despite minimal changes in appearance.

Curnow and Wallace carry much of the emotional weight as grieving parents striving for a second chance. Their mission—to correct past mistakes by raising a flawless replica of their son—adds depth and poignancy to a plot that sometimes feels overstated or stretched.

They’re supported by David Allsopp, Jacki Mison, and Kyra Belford-Thomas as well-meaning family friends (and subtle social rivals). Their high-achieving daughter, Amy (Belford-Thomas), becomes an unintentional source of pressure for Hari and Max.

While the premise is clever and full of potential, the writing often feels unfocused with scenes that struggle to get to the heart of the matter. A run of very short, early scenes, broken up by lengthy blackouts & set changes, disrupts the pacing. Jokes are repeated and at times, I found myself wondering, “Would an android really say that?” do the degree that it started to pull me out of the emotional drama. Instructions for Correct Assembly takes a bit too long to find its rhythm, and then doesn’t quite know when to stop. The final few scenes blur the message rather than sharpen it.

Still, the heart of this production lies in three excellent central performances. Curnow, Wallace, and Chapple bring warmth and humanity to a story built on artificial parts. Their final scene together is quietly devastating.