Public Domain ☆☆☆
Stayhouse, London

While some theatres have met the challenge of streaming during the pandemic by transferring their standard content to online Southwark Playhouse (or Stayhouse as they now call themselves) have done their version of the “Little Engine that Could” by producing a new musical that embraces the creative opportunity of digital while managing to satisfyingly critique it’s hollow heart.

Directed by Adam Lenson, with the content fashioned by performers Francesca Forrestal and Jordan Paul Clarke, it inhabits the world of the digerati. The Youtubers, Instagrammers and whatever en vogue platform is vomiting up a new hacktivist. Originally intended to examine the distance between the audience’s life and the version of life filtered on screen, that distance has evaporated because there is nothing else to do right now other than be online.

The format is much more documentary than musical. Using real tweets and quotes from influencers interspersed between transcripts of Senate hearings, chat show interviews, and news footage the real clips come at you at, well, a real clip. Forrestal and Clarke skewer through the familiar digital stereotypes such as the wide eyed influencer slickly employing all the tools that make them appear more authentic or the clueless newbie who should have stuck to their day job. They also reenact some of the more infamous words of interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr Priscilla Chan, 

It is parody with a purpose. There are wistful reminders of what people originally liked about Facebook, the ability to connect with close friends. This is evoked close to the end of the 80 minute piece by senior citizens sharing how they love to use it to make best use of their remaining time by sharing moments with other people. For most people this has been lost in the breaches of privacy, the pollution of toxic content, the divisiveness and the exploitation. All of which are explored through real life examples.

View the piece as a documentary told via song rather than a musical. These are lessons set to tunes rather than choons for your playlist. The score works to create pace for the material without submerging the message (here we are reminded that back in the day someone once bravely tried a musical version of Fat is a Feminist Issue with some rather memorable ear worms) . There have been a number of recent solid documentaries on the effects of social media, a musical version was due for those who wanted a more toe tapping format .

N.B. An encore stream of ‘Public Domain’ will be available to view from Tuesday19 – Sunday 24 January with this link https://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/public-domain/

Review by ANDREW HEBDEN

Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day.