Very entertaining and would work well as an educational piece
It is always refreshing to encounter young people who are not afraid to voice their opinions. In the last twenty years or so the way we live our lives has changed drastically. With the creation of the Internet and more recently social media the world has truly shrunken. Things that before seemed impossible to imagine are now available at the click of a button. The Internet makes it possible for us to connect with people across the world but simultaneously reduces the necessary amount of communication we need to make with each other.
Threadbare tells the story of Mia who is the victim of vicious hacking which leaves her private photos all over social media. Whilst dealing with a restrictive legal system and a boyfriend at university, Mia goes on a journey of self discovery riddled with sea urchins and cornflakes.
The play is performed in the round, with minimal set and costume. The sound design includes current popular songs and transition music that reminds one of vintage video games, very fitting for a play about social media. Although the nature of the play discusses many forms of nudity includes no actual nudity. It does however contain a fair amount of swearing and sexual themes so it might not be suitable for young children. The very promising young actors tackle themes of consent, social media usage and revenge porn in an energetic way.
However, as the play is rather fast paced it does not manage to reach the depth it could, particularly in terms of their understanding of consent. It barely scratches the surface of the issues faced by victims of revenge porn. It feels like further exploration has been dismissed in favour of the jokes which riddle the play and cause waves of chuckles from the audience. The piece includes some interesting physicalities, particularly when representing relationships and it would be interesting to see that part of the show further explored.
It did showcase in a thought provoking manner how internet addiction can affect the lives of children growing up in this new world. It was particularly interesting to experience the characters dealing with communication without their smartphones which seem glued to the hands of so many these days.
The play was very entertaining and would work well as an educational piece leading into discussion about consent and internet presence.
