I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life blisteringly funny and quick debut play by Emma-Louise Howell about the get-rich-quick-scheme underbelly of social media. Meet Belles. A previously popular and well-connected teenager, but now twenty- four with many failed jobs under her belt and living with her mum that’s so desperate to have her out her the house, she threatens to rent out her mattress. Hopping from one pyramid scheme to another: hosting fairy princess parties to selling make up, Belles is desperate to find control of her finances and independence.
The script, written by Emma-Louise Howell, has a theatrical energy that pulses throughout,
surging us forward to the eventual plummet of Belles online world. Its quick-fire speed,
biting humour and absolute take down of the online virtue meccas we build ourselves is
one of the most exciting pieces of new writing at this year’s festival. The design, which
included captioning incorporated into the style of the production, is innovative, immersive and entirely startling. The sharp clarity of Hetty Hodgeon’s direction paired with Louise-Howell’s magnetic performance, it’s a total package.
We’re entirely submerged into an online world of 404 error codes, instant messages, and usernames all living these post-human lives on screen. We never see any of the other people Belles encounter through any other medium than their username, but each have human stories that branch out far beyond the screen, for example the student desperate to pay off their loans, or even Kenz, Belles partner-in-crime who paid hundreds of pounds to an online scheme. Each of them is experiencing real life consequences for online deception. And whilst Belles, with the help of Kenz work hard to gain access to the control room, and entirely blow this pyramid to the ground.
But what becomes apparent is that there will always be a curtain drawn between people spending their small savings to find an ounce of stability, whilst the tech bros in Silicon Valley make millions to buy their electric Teslas.
It’s a scathing assessment of the complicated world of technology (I still have no idea how wifi actually works), the illusion of progress whilst those patriarchal, capitalist structures persist and how to make your way through.
I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life is on at 10 Dome, Pleasance Dome from July 31 – August 26 at 12.15.
Buy tickets here.
Images provided by Pleasance Press Office