Woz the Great and Powerful is a satirical comedy written by, directed by and starring Rhys Speight. The play mocks the Apple tech company by depicting its founders and key figures as cartoonish fools. The play also used a framework inspired by The Wizard of Oz to depict a bizarre alternate reality in which Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (played by Speight) becomes the CEO of the company rather than his more (in)famous business partner.
In the play I played the role of Steve Jobs. Speight described the piece as an “anti-biopic”. Whilst many biographical works aim to glorify and celebrate the achievements of its subjects, Woz chose to degrade and humiliate the key figures involved with Apple in its early days. As a result, Steve Jobs is reduced from the inspiring genius he’s often remembered as to an egotistical bully. He’s built up a company through using others and selling bullshit, both figuratively and literally.
Because of how Speight wrote Jobs, I actively chose not to imitate the voice or mannerisms of the man himself. Instead, I drew inspiration from Ashton Kutcher’s panned performance of the same figure and various cartoon characters. This allowed me to create a heightened caricature with the level of energy needed for the pacey and deliriously absurd script which Speight had produced.
