Caryl Churchill pocket-sized play of 2002 is Black Mirror-ish tale of a father, Salter (played here by Danny Adcock), who has paid to have a child cloned – not just once, but several times.

Understandably, his daughter (Jolie James) has concerns. What does the fact that there are lookalike versions of herself out in the world mean for her sense of identity, individuality and worth? 

A Number: Danny Adcock and Jolie James. Image supplied

Her evasive dad, whose story of her making changes markedly over the course of their conversations, only amplifies her existential disquiet. Things become knottier still when we meet two more of Salter’s children (both played by James): one is angry to the point of homicide; the other appears blithely unconcerned.

It’s been about 20 years since A Number premiered in Sydney (Downstairs Belvoir in 2006). Direct-to-consumer genetic testing and advances in gene sequencing were hot news and opinion topics. It has lost some of its urgency since. The present day’s moral, ethical, creative and technological conundrums have comprehensively overshadowed any fear we might have about running into a doppelgänger.

That Adcock and James are father and daughter in life as well as on stage is worthy of mention but not really significant in the scheme of things. Both perform well in a low-budget, design-lite late-night production (directed by Julia Pierrette) that maintains a grip even if hasn’t quite balanced the play’s emotional and cerebral sides.

A Number plays at the Old Fitzroy Theatre until 15 November.