Review: Moderation, The Hope Theatre

As someone who recently extricated himself from the clutches of social media after years of trying, I couldn’t help but connect deeply with the content of this play. And that made writing this review a challenge. I now want everyone to see it: bring friends, family, even your pet goldfishes (trust me, you’ll get it when you see the play). The difficulty lies in being able to convince, without giving anything away that will spoil your enjoyment.

Why? Because Moderation, about two social-media content moderators (one “boss”, one trainee), appears at first to be nothing more than a surprisingly timely, if over-worthy, slab of philosophical anti-social media diatribe. However, within minutes, Kevin Kautzman’s carefully crafted script quickly cracks open the claustrophobic basement world of HE (Robbie Curran) and SHE (Alice Victoria Winslow) to reveal a thrilling mystery that works on so many levels. At its heart is the emerging relationship (for want of a better word) between the two protagonists, but we hear of their barely disguised ambition to work for “the company” and their somewhat hopeless insistence that they work in tech. The sense that they are trapped by all too familiar circumstances into being moderators, creators and users of social media content, as well as disposable human parts of a merciless capitalist organisation, is distressingly familiar and more than a little uncomfortable.

The work may demand a lot from its audience, but even more from its two actors. Curran and Winslow never disappoint, rising to the challenge with honours. Curran excels at portraying the shift between the monotony of daily life and the shocking extremes of his mental state, while still managing, somewhat unnervingly, to feel like someone we’ve all worked with. Winslow, meanwhile, balances this intensity with a relatable portrayal of domestic survival, ambition and necessity. Both are compellingly believable and relatable. In an intimate setting like The Hope Theatre, where actors look audience members directly in the eyes, it takes real courage to engage with this level of intensity at such close quarters, but neither of them flinched, staring us down, challenging us in the moment to reflect on our role in their downfall. Ironically, by the time we get to the finale, we desperately want to look away but find that we cannot. We too are in this play, whether we like it or not.      

While the play offers plenty of philosophical food for thought (which, frankly, is what gets me out of bed in the morning), don’t mistake that for a lack of drama. The relentless 80 minutes that somehow mirrors the hideous working conditions of the two main characters is impeccably paced. It enthralled and thrilled me in equal measure. Whilst there is nothing in the production of this play that is beyond the functional, that does not matter: a sharp script and superb acting is the very essence of engaging theatre. 

Moderation is a wake-up call, illustrating the personal and political consequences of an unmoderated, addictive digital landscape. Its timing is impeccable, especially as social media gurus have recently abandoned content moderation in the wake of Trump’s presidential election victory, with disastrous results visible in the news. Maybe this kind of theatre is not for everyone, but tonight, Moderation most certainly was for me.  It holds a mirror up to us all, challenges us, and never once lets us off the hook.  

Written by: Kevin Kautzman
Directed by: Lydia Parker
Projection design by: Abbie Lucas
Lighting design by: Jack Hathaway
Sound design by: Ryan Condon
Composed by: Shawn Phillips
Stage Manager: Nathan Friend
Produced by: Suzette Coon

Moderation plays at The Hope Theatre until Saturday 5 April