★★★★
r/Conspiracy follows twenty-something year old Alex as her love of Reddit spirals into internet obsession. When a photo appears on one of her favourite threads of a man with a machete in her local park, she takes it upon herself to investigate it further. Her investigation leads her down various rabbit holes, and results in her neglecting her basic needs in order to get to the bottom of the case. One sleep-deprived poor decision leads to another, and Alex lands herself in some dangerous situations. Written and performed by Ella Hällgren, and directed by Emma Ruse, the solo play is a thrilling tale, showing what can happen if we spend too much time online.
At first, the internet is like a comfort blanket for Alex; something she turns to when she’s feeling sad. But “just one more post” turns into a sleepless night, which impacts her performance at work. She turns down social invitations with her colleagues, desperate to return to her “palace” of dirty washing and empty Pot Noodle containers where she can scroll through endless Reddit posts in peace. Her obsession with conspiracy theories takes over her whole life, demonstrated by her sleep-deprived brain imagining her manager as a lizard person when he pulls her into a meeting to give her a disciplinary for being late.
The script is very cleverly written. Every time you think you know where it’s going, Hällgren takes you in a completely different direction. Her descriptions of exhaustion are so visceral, and she brilliantly captures how Alex feels completely detached from reality due to being so exhausted. I found my eyes itching in solidarity, thinking about her staying up all night staring at screens. Alex keeps missing calls from her mum, but never tells us why until the end of the play. Suddenly, it makes complete sense why she loses herself in Reddit forums.
r/Conspiracy isn’t your typical preachy “the internet is dangerous” play: as Alex points out, us twenty-something year olds have sat through more than enough of these lectures. Instead, it highlights how online addiction can ruin our health, and subtly reminds us to put our phones down sometimes and connect with our loved ones. It’s a show bound to resonate with doom-scrollers, amateur internet sleuths, and the chronically online.
r/Conspiracy will be performed at Gilded Balloon Appleton Tower – Ruby until 24 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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