A chilling, blackly comic tale of manipulation, cyberbullying and adolescent insecurity arrives at the Altrincham Garrick next week.
Chatroom, which opens on Monday 19th July and runs through to Saturday 24th July, is performed by The Garrick Ensemble, a company of 18–30-year-old aspiring actors from Greater Manchester and Cheshire who perform one production each year at the Barrington Road theatre.
A powerful depiction of modern-day isolation and the dangerous power of technology, Enda Walsh’s play Chatroom formed part of the National Theatre’s 2005 Connections season, an annual festival of new plays for youth theatres and schools.
It received its first professional production in the Cottesloe auditorium of the National Theatre, London, in March 2006.
In a quiet corner of the internet, a group of bored, restless teenagers spend their time deconstructing children’s literature and the messages in modern pop music.
But when a new member joins to share his depression and thoughts of suicide, the conversation takes a darker turn.
Joseph Meighan, Director, said: “Chatroom is an important piece of contemporary theatre that is bold and exciting, and deals with some difficult subjects in a very clever way.
“The play is funny and engaging, and I think it makes the piece human and accessible. I really hope that Chatroom starts conversations surrounding mental health, depression and suicide and that through productions and work such as this, we can move towards ending the stigma that often surrounds these subjects.”
He added: “We’ve assembled an incredibly talented and gifted company of young actors who all bring something fresh to their roles, and I’m really excited to be sharing this production to close our spring/summer 2021 season.”
Chatroom contains strong language and deals with topics including depression and suicide.
