Review: The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin, New Diorama Theatre

Do you feel guilty about what you’ve done? What is the line between perpetrator and observer? Do you think you can be forgiven? Do you have someone safe to talk to?   

The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin, seeing its world premiere at the New Diorama Theatre, is a dizzying spectacle: part Lecoq-inspired clown show, part digital drama, and perfectly balanced to keep you on the edge of your seat. 

Alec Baldwin (James Aldred)—no, not the one you’re thinking of—is at home conversing with an AI, searching for comfort from a sickness that has been plaguing him. He has no one else to speak to about this feeling, and nothing but time to dwell on it. Time to contemplate, regret, relive, and most of all, doomscroll. As we witness his unravelling, we come to identify a social sickness that is perhaps affecting us all, and question if there is any path to ‘freedom’. 

I hesitate to reveal much more than this, as the rest truly must be seen to be believed. The tragic real-life case of Alec Baldwin accidentally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins serves as a clever jumping-off point for a wider exploration of humanity’s pervasive guilt and ignorance, and the ways in which the digital landscape only deepens our isolation, despite technology supposedly making human connection easier than ever. 

The entire cast sparkles, working so seamlessly together that at times they feel like a single organism, breathing life into one another. They particularly shine during an absurdist dance break, channelling the manic energy of a modern-day American Psycho breakdown, and in a series of AI-imagined depictions of the plot’s inciting event that have you laughing until the production is ready to quite literally pull the rug from beneath your feet. 

Technically, it’s a marvel, mixing audio soundscapes, AI responses, dance, and live-feed video that would make many a modern director envious. With set pieces falling from the ceiling, rolling away with a clean-up crew, and even literally inflating before the audience’s eyes, it’s often astonishing to witness the team pull it off, achieving the sort of theatrical feat that would sound impossible if merely described. 

Bitingly funny, writer-director Tommaso Giacomin’s script oscillates between laugh-out-loud humour, fuelled by AI absurdities, to the kind of uneasy laughter that only emerges in moments of shock. The writing is pertinent, addressing uncomfortable topics and exposing the fractures between people, demographics, and our own senses of self. In the moments where words don’t suffice, the cast makes remarkable use of the space, physicality, and their chemistry to fill the gaps, creating something truly memorable.  

The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin represents the very best of fringe theatre, delicately balancing a call for empathy with a darkly comic cautionary tale. The best thing you can do is go in blind and let this frantic, passionate ride take you to its tragic end. 

Writer and Director: Tommaso Giacomin
Producer: TG Works and Heather Ralph
Production Manager: Manuela Pierri
Lighting Designer: Alex Forey
Video & Sound Designer: James Aldred
Video Editor: Chris Lincé
Consultant Dramaturg: Simona Gonella
Producer: Heather Ralph
Props: pinyatay
Assistant Director: Lara Robinson
Photos: Chiara Rigato and Chloe Hashemi

The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin plays at the New Diorama Theatre until Tuesday 24 March.