the after wife

by Sophie McIntosh

Featuring original music composed by Michael Lepore (with lyrics by Sophie McIntosh).

It’s 1963, and Nora is the perfect housewife. She was built to be. The most authentically humanoid robot prototype yet created, she’s undergoing a trial run in the home of robotic engineer Martin and his teenage kids, Ruth and Wally. But Ruth can’t get over how much Nora looks like her own mother Lillian, who has disappeared without a trace. Martin faces surging pressure from his employers to make Nora the new...

It’s 1963, and Nora is the perfect housewife. She was built to be. The most authentically humanoid robot prototype yet created, she’s undergoing a trial run in the home of robotic engineer Martin and his teenage kids, Ruth and Wally. But Ruth can’t get over how much Nora looks like her own mother Lillian, who has disappeared without a trace. Martin faces surging pressure from his employers to make Nora the new and improved model for motherhood, and Ruth is forced to work against her father and the powerful corporation behind him as she desperately tries to track down her real mother.

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the after wife

Recommended by

  • Shaun Leisher: the after wife by Sophie McIntosh
    “

    I really loved this play. A period piece that speaks so well to today's audience. A play about the pressures put upon women. This play went to some unexpected places and I loved how complex all of these characters are. The lines between machine and human blur in this play and it leaves a lot for modern audiences to consider as we live in this world of automation and AI. Produce this play.

    I really loved this play. A period piece that speaks so well to today's audience. A play about the pressures put upon women. This play went to some unexpected places and I loved how complex all of these characters are. The lines between machine and human blur in this play and it leaves a lot for modern audiences to consider as we live in this world of automation and AI. Produce this play.

    ”
  • Leah Plante-Wiener: the after wife by Sophie McIntosh
    “

    SO GOOD. McIntosh has built a thought-provoking puzzle of ethics that reveals layer after layer of uncomfortable hypotheticals. Offers an abundance of opportunity for discussion on A.I. and our reliance on technology, consent, motherhood and its expectations, teenage sexuality, patriotism, and the human urge to assign emotion to anything that may look like us. Soo yummy.

    SO GOOD. McIntosh has built a thought-provoking puzzle of ethics that reveals layer after layer of uncomfortable hypotheticals. Offers an abundance of opportunity for discussion on A.I. and our reliance on technology, consent, motherhood and its expectations, teenage sexuality, patriotism, and the human urge to assign emotion to anything that may look like us. Soo yummy.

    ”

Development History