We’re becoming engulfed in a society that’s increasingly online. Social media has become a huge part of our daily rituals and we’re not even realising the impact it’s having. Our lives have become binary, lived through pixels as the internet reinterprets human relationship and warps the way we engage in society. CFTW flirts with these topics, and several other big ideas; unfortunately, they’re never explored in any depth.
Conversations isn’t a bad play though, it just never hits its potential. Sophia Start, the director, makes use of the limited space Moor’s Bar – a small 40 seater bar in Crouch End, London – offers, and the actors mostly impress; however, there are a few occasions of wooden acting, and a few spurts of overacting. It isn’t enough to break the play, but it doesn’t help sell the lofty topics it attempts to tackle including suicide, body image, family dynamics, love.
The play worked best when the cast performed in the full bar area and interacted online with the audience. During the production Rachael Bellis, in character as Kitty, even connected to me over Twitter and conversed about the play’s events. This mechanic could have been a gimmick but it added another, unexpected layer. In fact when Twitter was utilised properly, like when they put the #CFTWplay Twitter feed on the screen and the actors live tweeted during the production, it elevated the play above traditional indie-fare.
I do wish though that this interaction was taken even further and the actors engaged with people during the recess, much like secret cinema, and that more of them engaged with Twitter during the play. Every time an actor went beyond the stage I felt more involved, more included, and for a play about social media, that’s so critically important.
CFTW’s script did enthral, but never fulfilled its promise. The writer, Rachael Bellis, took actual conversations she had had online and built the script around them. This decision made the dialogue more relatable, we’ve all had relationship troubles or worries over parents liking our partners, but also had the unfortunate consequence of making the multiple twists towards the end seem at odds with what had come before. Whilst the first act dealt with relationships between characters the second attempted to make a stand and shock the audience. It didn’t quite work. Admittedly, the final twist was well directed, and hit home, but the others simply weren’t earned, or were brushed aside too quickly to resonate.
On the acting side, all impressed. Almiro Andrade (Tom) did go a little over-the-top at points but performed well during the majority of the performance. Rachel Summers (Mia) made what could have been a verbally verbose character relatable and managed to infuse passion into her character’s often whiny personality.
Rachael Bellis (Kitty) came into her own during the second half, especially during her body image problem – a powerful topic that, again, needed a bit more focus. In fact, it felt like her character, as well as Almiro’s, lacked significant first half development which would have given the audience more reason to care.
Peter Lewis (Jason) excelled, acting as a voice of reason throughout, though especially during the early segments with Mia and during his exposition-heavy monologues to the audience. He had a leading man stage presence and was the character who carried the majority of the play.
However, I did feel Faye Maughan (Carly) would have been the stand-out actor if she was given more to do; she never actually walked onto stage. She spent her limited time in the bar area to the side (a metaphor for her detached online presence perhaps?) making it difficult to sell her character’s motivations, namely her decision to leave social media. Faye did do her best and showed enormous potential in the role.
CFTW also had some characters who were shown simply through voice-overs, this helped to demonstrate the disconnect of online life. It was just unfortunate the voice-overs came across as stilted, with the possible exception of Aiden. The main culprit was Jason’s boyfriend, who provided a good portion of the story – especially during the second act, but the voice acting caused the audience to be less attuned to this significant arc.
CFTW provided a unique look at modern relationships. It showed the pitfalls of technology better than most and strayed away from being too heavy handed. There’s thankfully no in-your-face morals at the end, though it does make you rethink your social media addiction.
The script does need finesse but, regardless, it provided enough creativity and ideas to still be entertaining and thought provoking. The constant use of Twitter won’t be to everyone’s taste, and runs slightly paradoxical to the show’s warnings over it’s use but, if you’re up for trying something new, CFTW will delight.
Three-and-a-half stars
Conversations from the Web is running as a part of Camden Fringe. It’s on at 6, for 6:30, until Wednesday 12th August at Moor’s Bar, Crouch End. Conversations from the Web
Cast and Team:
Rachel Summers (Mia)
Rachael Bellis (Kitty)
Almiro Andrade (Tom)
Peter Lewis (Jason)
Faye Maughan (Carly)
Sophia Smart (Director)
Hanna-Jayne Elliott (Producer)
JJ Morris Blog 