r/Conspiracy dives into the strange comfort and creeping loneliness of our always-online lives. Ella Hällgren’s debut play introduces us to Alex, a Reddit addict whose guilty pleasure is scrolling through hyper-local posts about her local town. But when a thread pops up about a mysterious “machete man” spotted in her local park, Alex’s idle curiosity snowballs into full-blown internet sleuthing. Soon, she’s glued to her screen, surviving on pot noodles, losing sleep, and coming face to face with danger when her online pastime becomes all too real.
I was very much looking forward to seeing this piece. I first saw r/Conspiracy in an earlier development stage, and it more than exceeded my expectations.What drew me to the piece was the reality of it all. Where many shows tackle the internet as a hazy, magical place, Ella keeps it grounded in the reality of blue-light headaches and piles of laundry ignored. The piece finds a relatable tension between Alex’s online infatuation and her offline neglect, including work, relationships and tidying her room. From the first scene, you’re sucked into this world of sleuthing and trying to connect the metaphorical red strings. You’re instantly yanked out of this romanticised world when work alarms start ringing and Alex has got to face her real responsibilities.
Ella Hällgren is also the performer in this piece. She has great comedic timing and relishes in every word. One of my only critiques was the space and how I felt it restricted Ella. In the development performance, there was more of a set which was still stripped back but gave the actor a bit more stuff to play with. I understand the vibe the minimal set was going for, to create this sort of online rabbit hole, but at times I felt something was missing. I think it would be more interesting for both the audience and the performer to some more “stuff” to play around with. This is a minor adjustment in an otherwise excellently crafted piece.
r/Conspiracy is an enthralling adventure through the online sphere and how it seeps into real life, causing chaos and sleepless nights. Ella captures the intoxicating thrill of falling down an internet rabbit hole, with the right amount of hilarity, unsettling vibe and chaos.
r/Conspiracy is playing @ Gilded Balloon Appleton Tower at 15:00 until 24th August. You can buy tickets here : https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/r-conspiracy?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21210545253&gbraid=0AAAAADsaKHdiU0jjkXHyhWN40IV1AZT4G&gclid=CjwKCAjwtfvEBhAmEiwA-DsKjmJmELnonuKvziKZM1oNcsKfV8RV5CMVzbi0FG5QH8NRAX6EqlLW7BoCbHYQAvD_BwE
Theatre Scotland 
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