British writer Thomas Eccleshare’s black comedy begins in a similar vein to the opening scenes of Stephen Spielberg’s sci-fi film AI. A married couple, Max and Hari, grieving the death of their son, Nick, have ordered a replacement – the life-like synthetic humanoid, Jan.

This being ordinary suburbia, however, and with money a bit tight, Hari has opted for the flat-packed, DIY version. Even though Hari is quite handy with a screwdriver, putting Jan together proves somewhat more difficult than assembling a set of IKEA shelves.

Jane Wallace and Nick Curnow in Instructions for Correct Assembly. Photo © Patrick Phillips

The finished article, neat and tidy in a blue boiler suit, sure looks the part. All that remains to be done is to get the behavioural setting right. Though Jan looks very like Nick, the last thing they want is for him to behave like Nick, who lost his way in life and died of a drug overdose.

But even with the settings adjusted and a kill switch in easy reach, creating the perfect son proves harder than Max and Hari bargained for.

Instructions for Correct Assembly makes for an entertaining 100 or...