Imagine, if you will, that someone offers to sculpt the perfect partner for you, the literal embodiment of your heart’s deepest desire.
There’s just one catch – they’re not actually a real person, but a simulacrum.
Would you accept the offer?
Research undertaken by the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry suggests the vast majority of people would say “yes” – two thirds of men and one-third of women are perfectly OK with having a robotic life partner.
But what would they be missing out on by dating a “fake” person? And are the things they’d be missing things that we could actually (and very easily) live without?
This is the premise behind The Watermill Theatre’s latest production “The Wicker Husband”.
Ugly Girl (Gemma Sutton) lives on the outskirts of village life – shunned by the Tailor, Cobbler and Innkeeper and their respective wives, who make up its residents and lead wonderfully happy and contented lives.
Mourning her lot under a willow tree, she meets a sprightly dog who just so happens to be made entirely out of a wicker basket. After he/it steals her possessions, she gives chase and eventually comes to the home of its creator, the Basketmaker (Julian Forsyth) – who gifts her with her very own crafted companion, the Wicker Husband.
But how will the villagers, content in their long-lasting relationships, react when the girl they shunned returns with a companion who is more beautiful, more loving, and more selfless than their partners?
It’s classic fairytale fare, brought to incredible life by the specially-composed folk songs (courtesy of Darren Clark) which are played on stage throughout the piece and the magical work of the puppeteers, who bring the titular Husband and other assorted wicker creations to life in a manner reminiscent of “War Horse”.
Enhancing the fairytale trappings of the piece, the play makes you feel as if you’re there amid the action. Coupled with the branches of the large tree dominating the stage, the wooden interior of the theatre gives the impression that you’re sitting on the edge of a forest – while the background and lighting makes you feel as if you’re gazing into mists slowly rising over a lake, while swallows wheel and cry in the gloom.
And like the best fairytales, there is an element of the cautionary to this particular yarn – for not only does it capture some of the ethical debates surrounding the growing Artificial Intelligence industry, it also casts a light on the way we as humans react to loneliness and form attachments to things that can’t reciprocate.
Ugly Girl, physically alone and friendless, quickly develops feelings for The Wicker Husband despite his obvious lack of humanity. In reality, a 2011 study by the University of Calgary found that when humans sat facing a motorized block of wood, they would begin to react emotionally to it – in some instances dancing with it. What does this say about our need to fill the voids in our lives, and the lengths we’ll go to do so?
Likewise, the other villagers (equally lonely in their relationships) react with anger and jealousy respectively as The Wicker Husband highlights their shortcomings, or the shortcomings of their partners. A neat reflection, perhaps, of the way we can often be led by our emotions when we meet friends’ partners for the first time – drawing unfavourable comparisons that are based on perceptions more than realities, and (if the barrier between desire and action is thin) perhaps causing harm to those we love.
Perhaps it isn’t just the Wicker Husband whose strings are pulled by forces beyond his control?
With top-notch acting, music and singing, fantastic puppet work, and super direction by Charlotte Westenra – whether viewed as an enchanting modern fairytale or a deeper exploration of loneliness and attachment, this is a richly atmospheric trip which equals anything set down by the Brothers Grimm.
“The Wicker Husband” runs from the 11th – 26th March 2022 at The Watermill Theatre, Newbury. Tickets are available at https://www.watermill.org.uk
