Bizarre, funny satire about the increasing levels of attachment between humans and AI
WiFi-Sexual is an outrageous story of love and friendship. We follow Paul (co-writer Tom Hodgson), a lonely man who has had no success with dating, as he bonds with his AI device Mandy (Kate Lindsey). Alongside this, we see the strange, fractured relationship between Zach (co-writer Harrison Trott) and Lisa (Lindsey). The contrast between Paul and Mandy’s fantastical relationship and Zach and Lisa’s very human relationship, as well as the similarities, is intriguing to watch unfold.
The play begins quite weakly – Hodgson’s bewildered, stuttery portrayal of Paul veers off into slightly off-putting rather than endearing, as if he has genuinely forgotten his lines and attempted to compensate by randomly throwing in swear words. Zach and Lisa seem like one of those annoying, arrogant couples we wish we did not have to live with (or listen to!). It is only when Mandy arrives that the three human characters become interesting, and the story as a whole becomes more exciting to watch.
WiFi-Sexual is a very relevant play in this era of pseudo-conversational AI tools such as Gemini and ChatGPT. Hodgson and Trott provide us with an insight into the circumstances that push a person to seek an AI relationship, allowing us to understand that AI is neither perfect nor wrong. Hodgson delivers a nuanced, well-thought-out portrayal of a man – lonely, both due to his lack of charisma and ever-present toxicity, overzealous, and silly. Zach’s character development (or devolvement?) is particularly noticeable; Trott brilliantly conveys his descent from a very sexually active cheater to a sweet, sad, lustful man. The performances of both actors complement each other well.
Lindsey proves herself to be a brilliant voice actor! She is good as Zach’s awkward, dissatisfied girlfriend Lisa, but she truly shines in the role of Mandy. Deftly switching between the stale AI assistant mode à la Alexa and the expressive “Mandy mode”, Lindsey’s performance brings to light how men view and interact with women. In a pivotal scene towards the end of the first act, we are forced to contend with our own misogynistic prejudices and behaviours. We allow ourselves to forget that even AI is shaped by a patriarchal mindset, but Hodgson and Trott push us to see the negative effects of misogyny on ‘female’ devices.
WiFi-Sexual is an important play, brought to life by three brilliant and passionate actors. Though the writing could use some improvements, it is still a watchable, funny story.