Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Writer: Tom Holt
Director: Jordan Scott Turner
“Strong Concept, Disappointing Execution”
2 / 5
~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~
When a group of friends drunkenly partake in a social media challenge for their photos to be roasted by the internet, they never could have envisioned that it would become viral, let alone culminate in the collapse of society as they know it. Fast forward five years into the future and the world has become a dystopian nightmare, people unable to leave their houses without a paper bag over their heads, petrified of their appearances being judged, their self-esteem at rock bottom. Those who caused this alternative lockdown are the only ones that can potentially salvage society.
While the concept in writer Tom Holt’s debut production is strong, as a full length show it just doesn’t quite measure up, needing a lot of work for it to live up to the intriguing synopsis provided. The style expected is something similar to an episode of Black Mirror, but the execution is more like a vintage 1980s PSA style presentation for children about why cyber-bullying is wrong.
The underlying themes of online abuse, lockdowns and lost communities are contemporary and significant, but are told through a cartoon-style villain called ‘The Unseen’, with a cheesy, CBBC-esque delivery. This approach dilutes the overarching messages of the show and detracts from a narrative that should easily be tense and exciting. Most of the performance is spent in limbo – not humorous enough to be a comedy, but not suspenseful enough to be a serious drama.
The show begins promisingly, with a stand-off in a newsagents between two unnamed characters (Joe Wiltshire Smith and Stephanie Swan), one hurriedly taking a photo of the other to post online after the paper bag falls off his head. Guns are drawn and the tension is high, but the intensity and shock value of this scene is hardly repeated. The audience are then quickly introduced to the friendship group that creates the viral Roast Me – couple Charlie (A J Greaves) and Charley (Lucy Doyle), and their best friends Harvey (Conor Joseph) and Lily (Ayesha Sharma). From here on out two separate timelines are presented: one that flashbacks to how everything began, and one showcasing their attempt to make everything normal again.
The contrast between the past and present scenes are clearly outlined using subtle lighting and music during scene changes, making it easy to distinguish which timeline is being presented at any given time. The problem, however, is that every event within each timeline barely has a moment to marinate, before the cast are running on and off stage to present the next scene. The switches are too frequent, keeping the storyline in a state of flux without actually giving the dialogue a chance to progress further than basic interactions. Additionally, once the issue is resolved in the present-day narrative, the multiple flashbacks to the past appear redundant, and would be better received if they are shown prior to any finalised outcomes.
The foundations are there within the storyline to really take hold and become a fully formed production, but some modifications are essential to marry the idea, script and performance together harmoniously.
Runs until 22 January 2023
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