Review: Out! Out! at Alphabetti Theatre

Yesterday I had the privilege of seeing Out! Out! by Joanna Geronimo. Sadly I hadn’t been able to see it earlier due to illness but caught it on the last day of its run here at the Alphabetti Theatre.

Joanna lives in two worlds, one old and one new, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which is more real. Just for tonight, her phone’s going down, her hands are going up, and she’d like to share with you.

Hidden within the audience Joanna gets up and starts to ask us Do you live in that world? while pointing towards the wall. The online world of social media is what she is referring to. 

This play was a fabulous reminder that while all to commonly we post our lives on social media, that by doing so we may just be forgetting to live in the moment. It was a reminder to be present, focus and engage with the people around you. 

Joanna tell us of the night she went out and never shared online, she danced all night and enjoyed that moment. But as she ever shared it could it be believed that she was there? For this memory was to be enjoyed for herself only. We then also later had other examples of being in the here and now, whether that was playing ‘stop the bus’ or building sandcastles on the beach. 

This play was joyous, engaging, immersive and something that would have touched every single audience member. While an apt reminder to live in our moment, she acknowledges that this online world does have a place, for it opens up connections that had been lost and made people famous from nothing, but Joanna tells us to not let it own us. 

Joanna invited us to live in the moment and invited us to come up on stage to share something special to us, but as Saturday matinee show attendees we were all a little too shy, so Joanna took to our seats and made us share with the person next to us. It encouraged us to open up, engage and make eye contact. A point made by her just prior which ensured a feeling of being included. 

Joanna’s use of a projection to reflect the world of social media was clever and very simple. She was emotive and humorous and ensure she connected with all of the audience.

I had really enjoyed this show and wish I had have seen it earlier so I could share more about it. Alphabetti’s intimate space lent itself to this production and let Joanna really engage with us and be in the moment. I would love to maybe use social media less but as a blogger it’s kind of needed, but there’s plenty of opportunity elsewhere for me to put the phone down and be in the moment which I will try to do!