The self-proclaimed “international narcissist” Me the Drag Queen will be hitting the stage at The George performing a double act called Zizi & Me with their deepfake clone.

In honour of this year’s Science Week theme, ‘Infinite Possibilities’, project artist Jake Elwes paired up with Me the Drag Queen to use artificial intelligence to create a clone of the drag queen through video-to-video synthesis. To achieve this, they used film footage of the performer to train a programme to create a virtual body that can be controlled by feeding it new reference movements.

This unique performance is aiming to use cabaret and musical theatre to challenge narratives surrounding artificial intelligence and society. The show will be accompanied by an informative talk by Jake Elwes about what artificial intelligence can teach us about drag, and what drag can teach us about artificial intelligence.

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Elwes has been presenting his collection of drag deepfakes since 2019 titling it the Zizi Project. They describe their inspiration for their work, stating: “Drag challenges gender and explores otherness, while artificial intelligence is often mystified as a concept and tool, and is complicit in reproducing social bias. Zizi combines these themes through a deepfake, synthesised drag identity created using machine learning.”

To get a taster of what to expect at this unique performance, watch Me the Drag Queen sing alongside their deepfake clone in the video below, as they perform to the hit song ‘Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)’ from the musical Annie Get Your Gun.

The fascinating evening of artificial intelligence and drag will be happening on Saturday, November 12 at The George in Dublin. Doors open at 4:30pm and the show starts at 5pm. Don’t miss out – get your free tickets through Eventbrite here and start your weekend off with a spectacular and unique show!