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Sock Puppet

Sockpuppet

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by Gareth K Vile

The deep fake – video footage that can transform any face into another – has serious consequences both socially and artistically. If anyone can create a film starring Putin, Tom Cruise or Margo Robbie, can politics be manipulated and what value remains in the unique identity of the individual. In terms of puppetry, deep fake technology offers a new way to project characters    - indeed Jess Robinson has swapped the puppets of Spitting Image for celebrity deep fakes.

Sockpuppet deals with the social implications without necessarily over-exploiting the dramaturgical potential of the doctored visual image. From a bedroom studio, two women generate dep fake greetings on request: the arrival of a mourning friend compels them to question their morality. The deep fakes are projected onto a screen, but the tension in the script comes from the attempts to recreate the appearance of a dead lover. The technology is briefly showcased, and the three performers discuss the domestic meaning. The light touch of the narrative leaves big questions unasked, but speaks to a general unease with the influence and power of the computer.

The impersonations of Margo Robbie and Jim Carrie are sketched out, and their status as sock puppets is more metaphysical than theatrical. Yet like the puppet, deep fakes are used to expand the dramaturgy – unlike many puppets on the Fringe, the extension is serious. While the company is clearly more interested in the morality play, they hint at a potential use of the technology to reconsider the inanimate on stage.

3 stars