Everyone is Famous

As a youth theatre company, Riot Stage has a history of addressing issues related to young people in a penetrative and insightful manner. Everyone is Famous is no exception. The show is co-created and performed by Bonnie Brown, Sunny Chiron, Mila Lawson, Anna Louey, Amelia Newman, Jack Palit, Lillah Summers Dixon, Liam Trumble, Alex Veljanovski. The performance takes a quasi-documentary approach to teens and young adults and their experience of the feral world of new media. 

The show has three different parts, each with a distinct style. Initially the performers appear on stage and candidly explain who they are and who they wish to be. The enormous gap between these two imaginings becomes increasingly clear as each individual confronts the audience with some of their innermost thoughts. The effect is striking, above all, because of the accuracy of the millennial speak and attitudes. The text is rich and full of punches. 

The performance shifts gear and imagines them all in a domestic space where their relationship with new media technologies varies in form and impact on their mental well-being. The set is clever and stylish, giving each individual performer the space to expose both the exasperation and the elation involved in their respective media saturated worlds. The use of multiple screens using the shape of smart phones again exposes the enormous gap between their internal lives and their mediated ones. The point is reiterated with an unusual combination of recorded and live performance. This emphasises the great air of innovation that the production exhibits. 

The final act of the show moves into an altogether different register, taking the performers into a surreal, dreamlike space where they are able to imagine some kind of freedom from the oppressive aspects of their realities. This ethereal space is beautifully constructed via costumes and lighting in conjunction with some skilled choreography between a camera and live performance. However, in this phase of the show there is an indulgence in the idea of a utopian escape from the problems they face, and this gives the show a somewhat naïve perspective.

The negative impact of social media platforms comes under significant fire in this show as it covers topics such as sexuality, gender identity and fluidity, peer pressure, celebrity culture and toxic relationships or family dynamics. Yet, it is also made clear that these platforms are an inextricable part of the intricate realities contemporary youth are forced to navigate. The production exhibits an acute understanding of the relationship with technology and its ubiquitous and inescapable nature. This is one of the more powerful aspects of the production.

The performances are all very strong and frequently nuanced. They move well beyond stereotypes to convey all the contradictions and complexities of the various personas. They easily elicit empathy and poignancy. Sometimes the pace of delivery lacks rhythm and the show takes its time to reach a climax. While this can feel like points are being somewhat laboured, this does not detract from the edginess of this very accomplished show.

Patricia Di Risio 

Photographer: Pia Johnson