Isla

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Mark Lambert

Catrin Aaron

Lisa Zahra

Tim Price

Cliff Jones

Nick Stevenson

Tamara Harvey

Liam Evans-Ford

Gareth Williams

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Drama

Comedy

BBC Four - Isla

Dark comedy exploring the frustrations of a lonely dad and his new smart speaker.

A busy daughter buys her lonely dad a smart speaker, but in this dark and sometimes troubling comedy, nothing goes as planned.

Soon there will be more voice-activated digital assistants than people. All are female-gendered. Roger needs company, and he doesn’t want a dog. When his daughter Erin buys him the latest Isla digital assistant, an unexpected relationship between man and technology emerges. But who's really in control?

This thought-provoking, and at times troubling, dark comedy written by playwright Tim Price, has been adapted for television following its world premiere at Theatr Clwyd in North Wales. It was helmed by the theatre’s artistic director Tamara Harvey and stars Mark Lambert as retired teacher Roger, who is struggling with lockdown following the death of his wife. 

Lisa Zahra plays his concerned-but-busy daughter, who thinks a smart speaker is the perfect home help for her lonely dad, but never imagined it would lead to a visit from the police as well as surprising and sometimes upsetting revelations from his past.

Expect laughs, technology-induced frustration and some strong language.

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