Social media has been one of the great revelations of the
internet age, allowing for instant communication with strangers and giving
every community a voice. It depends,
however, on a certain level of trust. Do
you really know who you’re talking to?
It’s this notion of ‘trolling’ that’s at the centre of Gene
David Kirk’s incredibly disturbing one-act play, All Alone. With the rise of
dating apps like Tinder and Grindr beyond the now archaic chat rooms of the
past, it’s an issue that’s more pertinent than ever and fraught with
ever-increasing danger.
At the front of the stage sits a teddy bear. It’s an ironic symbol of childhood, a literal
front for the debauched man who lives in the messy flat before us littered with
paraphernalia: used bed sheets; pornographic images; lines of cocaine in the
bathroom; a dead woman (Caitlin Thorburn) dumped on a chaise longue (a past
conquest or a symbol of what’s to come?); and, most importantly, a laptop
balancing on an ironing board. It’s here
that the main narrative plays out, the man (dual-cast with Nicholas Clarke and
Nicholas Waters reflecting his schizophrenic, split personality) contacting a school
girl via an internet chat room. “Anybody
free to chat?”, he begins, innocently enough, though his intensions are clear. It’s a one-sided conversation, the audience
left to imagine the poor girl’s replies.
The man speaks with both an adult tone and childlike
mannerisms, conversing online and depicting an abusive past through monologue
whilst singing twisted nursery rhymes.
He appears to be from an educated family, reflected through Kirk’s use
of music: ‘On The Street Where You Live’ is given a sinister undertone in the
play’s opening moments, whilst the conclusion plays out like a slow-motion
opera accompanied by ‘Dido’s Lament’ from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. The
performance from Clarke and Waters (coincidentally sharing a first name) is
terrifying yet deliciously realised as they switch from innocently licking an
ice cream to miming fellatio in crazed sexual psychosis; boldly and politely enticing
a schoolgirl to the flat, then cowering in a corner as the man relives his shocking
past.
All Alone is a
daring and provocative piece of theatre that explores the darkest depravity of
the human mind. It has its moments of
black comedy but will ultimately leave you feeling cold. The play doesn’t revel in its explicit
content, instead using it as a thought-provoking warning. Kirk’s position is clear – these frightening
characters aren’t even allowed the privilege of a bow.
4/5
Watch: All Alone was
performed at the Drayton Arms Theatre for two nights (16th-17th
March).
