The Politics of Perception: Jess and Morgs Confront the Deepfake Era

• Theatricalizing Media: The performance frames political interviews as gladiatorial drama, highlighting the high stakes of public perception where outcomes are binary: win or lose.
• Historical Research: The creators studied specific historical media moments, including Jeremy Paxman’s 1997 interrogation of Michael Howard and Prince Andrew’s appearance on Newsnight, to inform the choreography.
• Technological Contrast: While the show uses green-screen technology, which has a "lo-fi" and playful aesthetic, it serves as a commentary on modern AI deepfakes that appear hyper-realistic.
• The Crisis of Truth: The core theme addresses how deepfakes do not just create false realities but also erode trust in genuine events, creating a pervasive gap of skepticism.
• Choreographic Precision: Dancers must hit exact physical marks and eyelines to maintain the illusion of the digital edit, mirroring the precise, calculated performances of media-trained politicians.

The new work, titled Deepfake, is set within a green-screen studio environment. The narrative centers on an interview between a composed journalist and a politician. To construct this piece, Wright and Runacre-Temple collaborated with writer Jeff James to analyze a wide array of televised interviews. Their research included Jeremy Paxman’s 1997 grilling of Michael Howard, where the interviewer asked the same question twelve times, as well as former Prince Andrew’s widely criticized appearance on Newsnight.

The duo also observed current political figures who are heavily trained in media handling. Wright describes these modern politicians as individuals who "continually and bombastically evade any questions at all." They were particularly drawn to the inherent theatricality of the television interview format. Wright explains that they wanted to put this setup on stage, asking the audience to engage with its performative nature. The result is described as gladiatorial drama in smart tailoring, where both participants face high-stakes consequences.

During the performance, the interview will be filmed live by four cameras. Audiences will witness two simultaneous realities: the physical action in the studio and a version on screen where background footage has been edited in. This dual perspective reveals the fabrication of the image and presents multiple possible realities to the viewer. Seven dancers wearing green-screen suits manipulate the environment but vanish in the final edit, further blurring the line between reality and construction.

While the production utilizes green-screen technology, which Runacre-Temple describes as having a "slightly absurd, playful, silent movie quality," it serves as a precursor to discussing modern AI deepfakes. These newer technologies appear hyper-realistic, posing a distinct danger. Runacre-Temple points out that the risk of deepfakes is not merely that people believe falsehoods, but that they begin to disbelieve truths. This creates a "gap opens up of doubt and scepticism about everything," altering our relationship with the landscape of truth.

In the context of the performance, this theme manifests when a character caught doing something inappropriate insists the image is fake. It explores how individuals can exploit this skepticism to escape accountability.

During rehearsals without technology, the focus shifts to the physical execution of these themes. Wright notes the value of going analogue to finalize choreography. The studio features two principal dancers: Rebecca Bassett-Graham, known for her work with Wayne McGregor’s company, plays the journalist; Kennedy Junior Muntanga, who has worked with Akram Khan, plays the politician.

The text is delivered via voiceover while the dancers embody its meaning through quick-fire movements that visualize dynamics such as charm, challenge, cooperation, accusation, and entrapment. Although the feel is freewheeling, every movement is tightly mapped to syllables, and every muscle flex is considered. In scenes involving the green screen, dancers must hit exact marks and eyelines on specific words; otherwise, "the whole illusion collapses." This creates a high-stakes environment for the performers, where their virtuosity serves as a metaphor for the calculated performances of media-trained figures.

Jess and Runacre-Temple leave the outcome of this digital battle open to interpretation, aiming for a result that is both surprising and mischievous. Deepfake challenges audiences to consider whether we can believe what we see, reflecting on the strange shifting relationship with truth in a mediated world.