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Theatres around the country are preparing to welcome a somewhat different cast member to their stages - a humanoid robot.

'Spillikin' features a 'RoboThespian' who talks, displays facial expressions, blinks, moves its hands, turns its head, and has even been described as "affectionate".

The play, starring Judy Norman, tells a story about a robot maker who builds a robot to keep his wife company after he dies.

Cornwall-based Pipeline Theatre , which has worked with robotics company Engineered Arts for the project, is touring across England.

The idea for the play came when the robot maker, who has been making robots for 10 years, approached the local theatre company and offered them the chance to use one of his 'incredible creations'.

"We have pre-programmed every single thing the robot says and every single thing the robot does, all the moves," writer and director Jon Welch said.

"So the robot will always say the same thing and move in the same way depending on what cue is being triggered at what particular time."

The robot is connected to the theatre's control room, where a laptop transmits cues for its performance.

"(There is) a big pressure on the actor...to always have the right lines, always stand in the right place so that the robot is looking at the right direction at that particular moment," Welch said.

On stage, Norman talks to the robot and even kisses it. In return, the robot replies, displays facial expressions and moves its hands.

"Working with a robot is something of course I have never done before so it's a completely different experience," she said.

"When he looks at me, this is going to sound weird, but he is very affectionate and I like him, I really like him."

Spillikin runs in London until March 19 and continues its tour until April.