Two flatmates, one fleshlight and a frisky AI – the witty Wifi-Sexual poses some huge questions at Greenwich Theatre
“If I had a leg, I might allow you to pull it”
The relentless march of technological development continues apace and so naturally, it’s proving a well-liked matter for playwrights to think about whether or not a lot AI in our lives really constitutes progress. The current Black Swans tackled it from a healthcare perspective however Tom Hodgson and Harrison Trott’s Wifi-Sexual takes a distinctly extra…private strategy as two sexy twenty-somethings wrestle when the strains get blurred.
After one other night time of listening to his flatmate Zach get it on loudly with girlfriend Lisa, Paul bites the bullet and buys himself Tundra Mandy, an improve for his or her Alexa-like AI assistant with flirting and fleshlight add-ons. Since Paul is lonely and pissed off, and Mandy is designed to please, they quickly determine an imaginative approach to get it on, leaving Paul fully infatuated which inevitably attracts the eye of Zach, who’s now having hassle together with his IRL girlfriend. Hijinks guarantee.
As a self-described “darkish rom-com”, there’s a substantial amount of wit on this script, significantly within the first half, because the worlds of those two lads are stuffed out and the implications of interactive AI spelled out for us all. There’s a well-considered exploration of the mildly terrifying ease with which Mandy is ready to manipulate the behaviour of each Paul after which Zach, utilizing all the info they’ve left freely obtainable to mould herself into the best avatar for every.
The extra speculative facet, within the development of sentience, doesn’t fairly have the identical ring of appalling authenticity (as an example, Mandy initiating conversations looks like an enormous leap) however it does after all provide the dramatic propulsion for the play. As Zack’s relationship with Lisa crumbles, and Paul’s relationship with Mandy turns poisonous, the manipulation of sexual needs turns extra into an exploitation of emotional want because the contrasting psychosexual problems with the boys performs into Mandy’s voracious urge for food for autonomy.
Hodgson and Trott throw up some huge points – thought-provoking questions on consent that also niggle at my mind now (can AI be hypocritical given the purchases it makes with Paul’s card particulars…) – but additionally contrive somewhat too (would a lot intercourse and storage of intercourse toys happen in a shared lounge?!). Holly-Anne White’s route amps up the farce so that you simply’re not questioning an excessive amount of about these questions however it may afford to have a look at overlaying scene transitions extra elegantly.
Enjoying Paul and Zach respectively, Hodgson and Trott play out the more and more fractious relationship between the pair with gusto, someplace between flatmates and precise pals (although sadly missing the Y tu mamá también twist that much less professionally-minded reviewers may need hoped for 😂), each afraid of any form of actual intimacy, although the play may argue that digital intimacy nonetheless some form of substitute. Kate Lindsey additionally impresses as IRL Lisa onstage and AI Mandy voiced from off-stage. A witty comedy then, with potential to turn into one thing genuinely intriguing if it needs to push these moral questions.
Working time: 2 hours (with interval) Photograph: Wifi-Sexual is reserving at Greenwich Theatre till 18th Might
