Politicians are Puppets

17 responses to “Politicians are Puppets”

1. I love Velvet’s creative contribution to her passion: decrying authoritarianism and political corruption through her brilliant, playful and inventive puppets. Velvet is the kind of person you want on your side: commited, passionate, humorous, compassionate and kind. I look forward to seeing the show!

2. Politicians are Puppets worked through the last 25 years of Ottawa municipal politics, looking at the failings and scandals of our various mayor’s, before moving out to look at Doug Ford, Justin Trudeau, and Donald Trump. The Ottawa political history was held together by a weak bee narrative and much low humour. The Ottawa political history review was interesting enough, and a big highlight was the Raging Grannies singing “Why are we killing the Earth” at the end.

3. This show – in which a bee attempts to engage with local politics – may have worked better with proper acting, but most of the politicians’ voices were AI generated.

   Such use of AI does not replace live acting – words are mispronounced and punchlines fumbled. It’s a tragic missed opportunity to showcase talent – the worst impressions of Trump or David Attenborough would still bring charm. I can forgive poor performances at Fringe, but not even bothering with key performances is egregious.

   While there are thankfully some real music performances, there is an AI generated song later in the play. Given the recent revelations by The Atlantic on the scope of artists whose work was stolen to train commercial AI – including even local artists – I don’t think this is appropriate for a Fringe stage.

   Beyond ethics, anyone can prompt – so I question the inclusion of generated content. Multiple plays this year feature real composers and actors to great effect. There is much magic being made at fringe and outsourcing anything to AI feels like a waste of the audience’s time and money.

   Finally, it seems ironic for an environmental play to make use of resource intensive data centres. Asking why we’re destroying the planet while showcasing such infamously polluting technology feels in poor taste.

   I don’t doubt that this was well intentioned, and I respect that the creator has been a fixture in local activism with her charmingly absurd caricature masks, but I would not recommend this.

4. I agree wholeheartedly with the political takes, but unfortunately I cannot recommend this show due to its use of AI. All of the voices of political characters were done with AI, which messed up the timing of most jokes and pronounced several words wrong. It was grating and difficult to listen to.

   There was also an AI generated song. The cast includes a talented musician with a beautiful voice. Why not get him to sing it?

   It is painfully hypocritical to promote environmentalism while using technology that harms the planet. AI is a monumental threat to artists and the environment, and is the antithesis of what Fringe represents. I hope shows with extensive (or any) AI will not be included in future Fringe festivals.

5. The political discussions were thoroughly engaging, the use of humour was fabulous! A very entertaining show that I highly recommend!

6. I really, really enjoyed this show – I came expecting political commentary and that is exactly what was delivered along with incredible larger-than-life face masks (my favorites were Trump and Trudeau), plenty of humour and some live music. It was also an excellent education in Ottawa municipal politics. Show I was at had technical difficulties that delayed the start which cast and crew navigated brilliantly. Voices were audio clips, actual politicians or Trump’s words with a translator app. In my opinion, this is a more than appropriate way to skewer politicians.

7. My husband and I went to see this show. We were not sure what to expect. Loved it!!! Lots of laughs – raised several enviromental issues. Amazing large puppet head costumes were comical and really added to this presentation. The artist / creator did an amazing job!!!

8. We absolutely loved it! It is such a refresh departure from other theatre productions. It’s quite original and hilarious while pointing out very important local political issues. Great blend of current technology and live action. A trail blazer.