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“Thank Christ, I was worried no one would answer— I’m not sure how much time I have, so I’ll try and be quick.”A 33-year-old, obviously gay, audibly middle-class, solo theatremaker is standing at a payphone.
She needs to tell you a story. It’s about a very weird, quite secret job she had a few years ago. It’s pretty funny in parts.
She needs to vent about her addiction to doomscrolling.
She needs you to pass this parcel. And to nail the harmony in ‘Islands In The Stream.’
And she needs to explain some things. She thinks they’re quite important.
Join multi-award-winning theatremaker Hannah Maxwell, fresh from the Edinburgh fringe with her new show, TURN YOUR F***ING PHONES OFF. A dark, absurd and fiercely hopeful exploration of human connection in the Information Age.
TURN YOUR FUCKING PHONES OFF tells the story of how we got here – you, Maxwell and everyone else. It playfully expounds on the rise of Big Tech, attention-hacking innovations and surveillance capitalism. It recounts Maxwell’s personal struggles with phone addiction, her bid for a life in analogue, and her bizarre chapter countering Kremlin-backed disinformation (cue Bond theme). And it sits you down on a train. The one you take all the time.
Performed in traverse with an immersive technical design by Benji Huntrods, TURN YOUR FUCKING PHONES OFF has been dramaturgically supported by a stellar cadre of theatre-makers, including Ursula Martinez, Rachel Mars, Annie Siddons and Nick Cassenbaum.This production has been commissioned by Waterside Arts, Sale and developed through generous funding from Arts Council England. The project has been supported by The Vaults, Queen Mary University of London and The Front Room, Weston-super-mare.
Don’t miss this thrilling and vital new work from one of the UK’s most exciting writer-performers, as voted for by audiences at last year’s BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG (“delightfully meta” ★★★★ The Guardian).
“Memorable, entertaining and effortlessly engaging.” — ★★★★ David Pollock, The Scotsman
“Tremendous… delivered with equal parts fervour and merriment.” — ★★★★ Mark Fisher, The Guardian
“Relevant, urgent, and vital.” — ★★★★★ Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World
“Funny, scary and deliciously light-touch.” — ★★★★ Lyn Gardner, The Stage
“Prescient, masterful, and hopeful despite itself.” — ★★★★★ Eve Miller, Binge Fringe
“A stark warning about dwindling attention and democracy under fire.” — ★★★★★ Stuart Wilson, To Do List
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Event venue
Front Room WSM, Front Room, 13 Central Walk,Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom
Tickets
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