r/Conspiracy markets itself as a “virtual mystery romp… for messy girls, for hungry sleuths and the chronically online”. It promises an exploration of our interactions, attitudes, and addictions to social media. The premise is fantastic and wildly interesting. Unfortunately, r/Conspiracy missed the mark a little for me.
The plot follows Alex — a twenty-something who works in a cinema and is obsessed with Reddit. She spends her nights trawling through true crime forums, looking for something to fixate on. One night, she discovers a thread documenting the tales of a man wandering her local park. This draws her into a doomscrolling spiral, a friendship with a fellow Reddit user, and a mission to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Ella Hällgren is a talented performer, with sharp comedic intuition. Her storytelling is captivating, and she kept the audience engaged and laughing throughout.
I struggled to connect to the character of Alex — she was self-sabotaging in a way that I found more frustrating than profound. The plot took turns which were at times interesting, but at other times not. A last-minute revelation about her mother feels more like a tack on than a meaningful addition to the plot.
I enjoyed the blossoming crush/relationship between Alex and her colleague at the cinema — it felt like it added depth to the character, showing awareness of an outsider perspective of Alex, as well as showing a more human side to the awkward character. The writing of these conversations was a true highlight and showcased Hällgren’s writing talent successfully.
Like so many Fringe shows, r/Conspiracy is showcased in a challenging performance space — it was difficult to see much of the stage from a few rows back. Direction from Emma Ruse attempted to make the best of this, with several levels used throughout.
Tech was also used interestingly, and sound design was particularly notable, reading out messages and Reddit posts. This created an immersive edge to the performance and was well-executed from Hällgren and Ruse.
r/Conspiracy is a promising debut from Hällgren, and with more simplicity of plot, and perhaps a little more subtlety, she has the potential to do something truly show-stopping.
Image courtesy of Emma Ruse Productions, provided to The Student as press material.