#EdFringe – Conspiracy - Review
★★★★
Expose the world’s greatest cover ups with three conspiracy theorists as they explore the inconsistencies of their entire perception of the world, and each other.
Three people are in a room, debating the truth of one of the most famous photos of all time. Something isn’t right with it, and they think they’re on to something big – a Mount Rushmore sized cover up. But with each discovery they come to another inconsistency, another untruth that unravels more than they’ve bargained for, until they no longer trust their perception of the world or each other, or what truth is itself.
Pretty cool concept right? And pretty cool execution – the simple set and staging of Rose Wardlaw, Azan Ahmed and Shannon Hayes sitting at a table, examining their theories and bringing out supporting evidence and props as they map the conspiracy. The three characters are equally as kooky and invested in the theories, but for their own reasons, and their chemistry and dynamic make it a joy to watch.
Is it Nazis? Is it the mafia? Jack Perkins punchy text puts together a believable story that gets wilder and wilder at every turn with humour, wit and heart. It showcases how emotionally invested we can get in things that do or don’t really matter, the feelings of gratification and also emptiness and loss when you finish a project and don’t know where to turn next, and also navigates friendships and trust issues, all in an awkward comedy about this photo.
It’s fake news through conspiracy theories and bending the truth to see how far it will bend without breaking, and it’s a lot of fun to watch. At one stage, Shannon is goading the audience into the realization that the bodies are missing because in fact, they’ve been buried on the moon and that’s why the moon landing was faked, and the way the audience is drawn into the storyline and the realisations is so much fun – it’s interactive and a conversation without real audience participation.
Lucky you have another chance to see this show – Conspiracy comes to New Diorama Theatre from 10 September until 5 October. A well deserving winner of the Untapped Award 2019, make sure you don’t miss this witty and fun show about the truth and the wild theories we all have inside our head.
Conspiracy played at Underbelly Big Belly until August 25. More info.
More info on New Diorama run - https://www.newdiorama.com/whats-on/conspiracy