A Suffocating, Choking, Feeling will leave you entertained, bewildered and guilty.
A Suffocating, Choking Feeling is a darkly satirical production that invites you into the front seat of the rollercoaster that is Simone Hamilton (Simone French), an up-and-coming popstar influencer who documents her entire life, including her battle with a serious illness.
The character is based on Belle Gibson, an Australian influencer who lied about having terminal brain cancer, which she supposedly cured with her healthy lifestyle.
The production is by TomYumSim (Tom Halls and Simone French), a British/Australian duo who specialise in a non-conformist approach to theatre. Their immersive productions blend technology, music, and video, hauling their live audience into their experimental universe.
While most productions encourage you to disconnect from your phone, A Suffocating, Choking Feeling implores you to bring it and leave it on. Upon arrival, you are greeted with a QR code to ‘join the show’: Simone’s Instagram live, where you become the second role in this play.
The worlds of social media and medicine silently merge, with medical trolleys and privacy screens being used as resting places for tripods, ring lights, colourful backdrops, and the projection of short-form content along with Simone’s Instagram live.
The show successfully brings you into this universe from the moment you arrive. Not only with the well-chosen set in front of you, but with the online world of Simone Hamilton, from both her curated perspective and the perspective of the off and online onlooker.
As she spirals, Simone French’s acting clearly shows us the desperation that leads to the manipulation of her audience in order to find success.
It is not comfortable to watch, but it shouldn’t be. It reflects the very real lengths people go to capture the fleeting attention of an audience. It forces you to question, as the audience, how complicit you are.
This production is a unique experience that everyone who uses social media should watch.
You are not just a passive onlooker; here, you are an active participant.
Featured image by Daniela Vazquez Medina