You Matched With...
Ghosted by Adam, the story follows Em as she spirals in her bedroom at 2 am. Trying to find some sense of security, she turns to ChatGPT, throwing increasingly desperate prompts at it.
When none of its suggestions for emotional closure seem to land, the AI launches a Beta version, generating a series of 'Romantic Accountability Avatars'. As past matches, situationships, and even relationships materialise in her bedroom, Em is forced to confront her own attachment patterns.
While the tone is light, surreal, and comedic, the piece looks at the commodification of our basic need for connection, learning to sit with your feelings rather than retreating into intellect, and the effects of turning to an app instead of a fellow human being.
Due to my background in online marketing, I’m naturally interested in the role technology plays in our lives. With the rise in people using AI as a personal therapist, I knew I wanted to write something around that. Having spent a fair amount of time over the past few years thinking about what genuine connection means to me, attachment styles, my own patterns, and modern dating in general, the story naturally lent itself to a romcom.
When I re-read A Christmas Carol a while ago, the idea crystallised into: What if, instead of the Ghost of Christmas Past, we had the Ghost of Matches Past?
Would you trust AI with your love life?
Pleasance Theatre
27th - 29th November 2025
Gallery
You Matched With… was one of two pieces selected by this year’s associate artists for Week 1 of Pleasance’s Futures Festival, exploring the impact of AI and what it means to be human in a rapidly shifting digital age.
Reviews
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Everything Theatre (Pleasance run)
Putting the intelligence into AI, 'You Matched With...' dissects the disasters of digital dating with an all-too-relatable comedy that 'holds space' and hangs us all out to dry.x
In humanising AI, Hognogi raises a pertinent debate around the global abuse of artificial intelligence as a drain on human existence and our natural resources.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Spy In The Stalls (Pleasance run)
A light hearted exploration of the intersection between technology and intimacy.
Diana Hognogi’s script is tightly woven, striking a careful balance between poking fun at the current state of romance, without overtly judging the heroine, its dialogue light as a feather.
Coming to Union Theatre on 27th May at 7:30 pm, for one performance only, as part of the Union Shorts Festival.
Etcetera Theatre
26th - 28th March 2026
Following a sold-out run at Pleasance Theatre last year, an extended version of You Matched With... was shared over three sold-out nights as part of the Women Writers Festival, receiving a nomination from Fringe Theatre Awards in the category "Writing - New Play", as well as a nomination for the Standing Ovation Awards.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
A Young(ish) Perspective (Etcetera run)
A sharply written and surprisingly unsettling comedy about what happens when we ask AI how to feel.
Hognogi leaves her audience with an uncomfortable question about what we actually want from human connection — and whether we have already unintentionally outsourced it. Based on this tightly written and throughly entertaining hour of theatre, she is a writer well worth watching.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Rated Reviewed (Etcetera run)
Hognogi’s clever, funny script blends elements of Black Mirror and A Christmas Carol into this enjoyable, relatable rom-com.
The talented cast balance humour and social commentary very well, the warnings of AI and the role of technology in our lives woven cleverly into the script without ever feeling too heavy or preachy. It’s a short show, but packed with timely, sharp ideas.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Theatre Audience Podcast (Etcetera run)
Witty, wise and wonderfully observed, proof that great writing needs nothing more than space, skill and story.
Smart, sharp and strikingly current, You Matched With… delivers a witty and quietly unsettling take on love in the age of AI. This is bold, relevant storytelling that feels firmly rooted in 2026, modern, messy and recognisably human. I could easily see this transferring to Soho Theatre or embarking on a well deserved tour.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The New Current (Etcetera run)
Hognogi’s writing is engaging from the start, and the playwright offers a fresh perspective on the issues we face as AI continues to dominate our daily lives.
Nearly twenty years of social media has done more to disenfranchise society from itself than any government policy or ‘initiatives’ could ever have done. And it’s here that Hognogi presents something that’s richly observed and deeply heartbreaking; she leaves Em with no real choice but to use ChatGPT, as her reliance on it is so great that she’s lost without it.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐.5 + Standing Ovation Nomination
London Pub Theatre (Etcetera run)
A slick, hilarious fast-paced production that leans confidently into satire while never losing sight of the very human vulnerabilities at its core.
This isn't isn’t just any rom-com. In a science-fiction like setting that feels too close to reality and a splash of on-point dark humour, You Matched With... masters the rom-com genre to produce an up to date commentary on AI, and the difficulties of finding human connection in our online dating era.
Cast & Creatives
Pleasance Theatre run:
Etcetera Theatre run:
EM - Evangeline Beaven
ELLIOT - Andrew Friedman
TOM - Samuel Grecco
CHATGPT - Alex McCaragher
DIRECTOR - Hannah O'Reilly
PRODUCER - Clara Courty-Zanca (EnRoute Theatre)
EM - Evangeline Beaven
ELLIOT - Andrew Friedman
TOM - Frankie Wade
ADAM - Jude Alp
CHATGPT - Alex McCaragher
DIRECTOR - Hannah O'Reilly
PRODUCER - Clara Courty-Zanca (EnRoute Theatre)