Review: RED PILL by Sam Went at Lion & Unicorn Theatre 13 - 18 June 2022

‘An enlightening piece for anyone who is unaware of how a person can be radicalised online.’ ★★★★ ½

The Matrix film franchise which started in 1999, is such a cultural phenomenon that a fourth installation of the science fiction action film series was released last year: The Matrix Resurrections. Most people are familiar with the seminal scene where Laurence Fishburne (as Morpheus) produces two pills, one red and one blue, as a choice for Neo, played by Keanu Reeves to decide whether he wants to know the shocking truth about the universe (red) or remain in an oblivious dreamworld (blue). Of course, he picks the red pill and goes down the rabbit hole. The rest, as they say, is cinematic history.

More recently, the term ‘red pill’ has been co-opted by far-right political subcultures, particularly to validate the idea that feminism is undermining society and seeks domination, not equality.

In Red Pill, Sam Went explores a possible way in which a young man could be captured in the claws of such thinking. Three friends, Chris (SAM TOOCORAM), Cassie (AMY HARRISON) and Joe (MICHAEL HOGG), who speaks rather quickly in the first act, are hanging out at the two young men’s flat and after a poor decision to get intimate, Cassie and Chris are caught in a period of ‘are they or aren’t they?’. When Chris discovers that Cassie is actually not interested in him while he was quite in love with her, things start to spiral out of control for him. And the real story begins.

Chris turns to the online world when his real life world isn’t shaping up the way he hoped: besides being spurned, he is in a dead-end job and feels dejected about life. Peeled away in layers, the red pill starts by dissecting a real incident that occurred in 2014, popularly called Gamergate (harkening to another linguistic cultural phenomenon where -gate is attached to anything scandalous). Eventually, it moves into discussing cultural marxism, the ‘lies’ of feminism, and starts incorporating Nazi memes. There is even mention of the lesser-known black pill.

The production, a propos to the storyline, uses technology very cleverly to demonstrate the layers of red pill that exist. From showing a series of videos by a self-assured young man named Tyler (CAI SUTHERLAND), a name taken from another culture-defining film, Fight Club, to the online dialogues where the audience reads rapturously in silence. In the midst of it, the audience is introduced to new vocabulary (e.g. cuck, kek, libtard, and the use of names like Chad) and how mind control is powerfully wielded in these forums. One surmises that this show uses the cleanest version of these conversations, which is still shocking. The 'in real life' lighting is a bit intense at times, contrasting with the darkened space conducive to staring at the wall projection of Chris’s laptop screen.

Insightfully written and believably performed, there is humour incorporated, especially through the character of Dan (TARIK BADWAN), though this is quite an intense and engrossing play from its first turning point. It is an enlightening piece for anyone who is unaware of how a person can be radicalised online. At times disturbing and even slightly haunting, it will leave you wondering about the world we don’t see but very much exists. Without a doubt, this is an important work to watch and share far and wide.

Images by Becca Rowson.

RED PILL

Written by Sam Went

Performed by Sam Toocaram, Michael Hogg, Cai Sutherland, Amy Harrison, Tarik Badwan

Directed by Lois Attard

Other Creatives: Dísa Andersen, Becca Rowson, Sam Campbell

Blue Bar Productions

Twitter @BluebarProd

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew