We can't deny that we are living in troubling times. One could argue that we have always lived in troubling times, but at least when I was growing up, we seemed to be making some headway in wins for social issues. Now, we have both troubling times and the progress we've made seems to be reverting.

"Semi-Automatic Smokeshow" looks to tackle these issues in a solo effort by Delaney Conway.

The play opens with voiceovers from American news stations speaking on the recent presidential win in the United States. They speak on the billionaire class and their immoral views and actions, while all the while Conway dons a neutral mask and performs some very impressive physical theatre. I loved the use of the neutral mask, feeling it represented the people of the United States as one, rather than looking for differences and divides.

The main body of the play surrounds a makeup influencer who has been selected to be the face of The American Dream, a new sort of social media, where she is filmed 24/7 and made to peddle products to the American people, similar in concept to livestreams on social media platforms where viewers can make donations, etc.

Her makeup is soon pushed to the side to instead do what's best for the company, a CEO popping in via voiceover from time to time to remind her of this in condescending ways.

The play has some very strong bones, but it really needs to be fleshed out. Too often I found myself wanting a little bit more dialogue that wasn't about the products. I wanted to get inside her head and really understand who she is so that her descent into the mass capitalistic and immoral world of profit before people had more of an impact. I also felt that the character was far too accepting of the CEO voiceover. I get that she is meant to be desperate to achieve her goals, but it felt more like it was acceptance to move the plot along rather than a natural acceptance from ambition.

his play has so much more to offer and, with a run time of 45 minutes, it's difficult to get that out. If it comes back next year with some development, I want to be first in line for a ticket. Conway is clearly a talent! The piece, however, is just in its infancy and needs time to grow.
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Were there any shorter shows at fringe that stuck out to you? Let us know about them in the comments! 😊
Looking forward to next year's fringe already, and I hope you all had a fantastic fringe!
Love,
Tony x