Distant Memories of the Near Future review – dating dystopia makes you glad to be alive now

Arcola theatre, London
Four interwoven stories set in 2043 explore love, connection and AI. Their ideas are beautifully written but dramatically truncated

The year is 2043 and the world's data has been so comprehensively harvested that a dating app promises subscribers a perfect match with every compatible partner on the planet. As the advert tells us: Love is simply an algorithm."

That is, unless you are deemed undesirable" by the algorithm. This near future has intimations of the Orwellian, including mandated adverts spewing out on screen to its citizens and artificial intelligence giving lessons on humanness.

At the Arcola theatre, London, until 30 November