A decent show is worth the price of a ticket and a bad show isn’t, but in the case of
The actors are certainly trying, but there’s not much that can be done with a script this achingly clichéd.
The writer of this show possibly learned about playwriting from watching PSA videos made to teach children not take drugs from strangers while crossing the street. Whole forests must have been destroyed to produce dialogue this wooden. The plot centres on a group of university students who talk and act like high schoolers and for some reason all work in an Amazon call centre located on their school campus, (please explain), while attending yoga classes and therapy sessions in their spare time. The message – oh, there’s a Message all right – is essentially: these damn kids with their iPhones and their Facebook and this Tweeter thing! They don’t know how to have real human relationships! Now get off my lawn! Dearest darling scriptwriter – your jokes about posting on Instagram are incredibly tired. They are exhausted. Put them to bed.
The actors are certainly trying, but there’s not much that can be done with a script this achingly clichéd. They at least should have protested against the dance number and lip-synching – preventing the opening musical sequence alone would have been a triumph for the arts. There are conversations worth having about the effect of technology on relationships, but this one has been had and had plenty. If you’re looking for a piece of theatre exploring communication technology, go find a production of Sarah Ruhl’s delightful play Dead Man’s Cell Phone. As for this show – it’s boring, it’s ugly, it’s horrible. Run like hell.
