Humour in the Water Coolant 
A play by Olivia Erlanger

Staged at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in May 2024, Artist Olivia Erlanger’s play Humour in the Water Coolant tells the story of a woman haunted by the appliances in her new home. Performed across three domestic suburban sets in the ICA Lower Gallery, the play’s title references the aqueous humour of the eye and mechanical fluids found in engines, revising the metaphor of a body as architecture to body as appliance. 

Set during a séance to rid the home of its haunted aura, the play explores the panpsychic potential of domestic objects. The appliances, now able to speak, express their emotional lives, rife with dissatisfaction, sadness, and ultimately a desire to connect and love. The psychological effects of their declining usage and functionality antagonises the idea of technological improvement as a positive development, reframing it as a means of escape. What does aging mean for these objects ‘born’ on the assembly line, whose parts are easily replaced or whose obsolescence is already planned?

Cast:
Honor Swinton Byrne as 'Sophie' and Olivier Huband as 'House'
with Michelle Newell as 'Crystal'
Callie Hernandez as ‘Lamp’
Amie Francis as ‘Oven’
Dani Moseley as ‘Shower’
Adrian Pang as ‘Fridge’