It is set in a TV studio in the foreseeable future, when low-cost androids (known as "actoids") have largely replaced actors.

This play originated from the idea that the ability to laugh and the ability to fall in love are both characteristics that differentiate humans from androids, as both are illogical from an objective viewpoint, thus raising the question as to whether either of the actions in an android would be considered a malfunction.

[1] Idealistic young writer Adam Trainsmith meets Chandler Tate, a former director of classic comedies, who makes a living by directing a never-ending soap opera.

She is jealous of Adam's sympathy for talented Jacie and orders the android's memory wiped.

Chandler Tate was played by David Soul, and Jacie by Janie Dee, who had created the role in Scarborough.