Who would you be, if you could be anybody? Sockpuppet is a new play about deepfakes: the new technology that allows anyone to pretend to be anyone else. Almost. Following the lives of three students exploring the thorny underbelly of the internet from their university flat, the piece explores how a new technology allows the past to bleed into the present.
Originating from a collaborative devising process, the work explores the intersection between art, technology, and grief. Utilising live camera work, video projection and real-time deepfaking software, Buzzcut’s face-swapping spectacle is the first of its kind.
The play was first performed as a Work in Progress at the Burton Taylor Studio Oxford before being developed further between runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and VAULT Festival. It was then an Official Selection of the 2023 National Student Drama Festival.
- Binge Fringe
- The Oxford Blue
- Everything Theatre
Flo / Deviser: Lucy Mae Bean / Grace De Souza
Alfie / Deviser: Henry Waddon / Noah Radcliffe Adams
Tash / Deviser: Annabel Baptist
Emily / Deviser: Georgie Dettmer
Writer and Director: Gabe Winsor
Assistant Directors: Ciana Russo, Ed Hodgson, Darcey Willing
Producers: Freya Hutchins, George Rushton, Nathaniel Jones
Assistant Producers: Nina Skrzypczak & Charlie Lovejoy
Stage Design: Frances Gawne
Sound Design: Shaan Sidhu
Lighting Design: Pen Hilder Jarvis
Graphic Design: Iris Bowdler & Daisy Day
Welfare Officer: Paula McGechan
Marketing Manager: Amy Evans
Stage Managers: Roe Rajah and Charlie Lovejoy
Composer: Niky Pasolini
Script Supervisors: Flora Rugman, Helena Aeberli, Will Campbell
Oxford Playhouse Burton Taylor Studio (WIP Performance): 8th - 12th March 2022
Edinburgh Fringe: 8th - 13th August 2022
VAULT Festival: 1st - 2nd February 2023
National Student Drama Festival, Leicester Curve: 8th April 2023