BRILLIANTLY UNHINGED

By Trisha Cusack ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

It takes a certain type of person who is brave enough to not only overcome a mental health breakdown, but to also capture it and turn it into a play for strangers to watch. Eleanor Hill does this and more in her one-woman show ‘Overshare’. 

Over the course of an hour, we witness a chaotic collection of tragicomic monologues, inspired by Hill’s own life. From delving into what it was like to lose her mum at age 5, to spiralling out over an incredibly toxic relationship with an older married man, Hill bares it all in a captivating performance. 

Each scene acts as a chapter of Hill’s life, which has you laughing and relating one moment (who among us hasn’t stalked a lover or ex online?) to feeling deep concern the next as she deals with extremely difficult circumstances, including suicidal thoughts and sexual assault. This rollercoaster of emotion is thanks to Hill’s effortless acting. Her commitment to being as raw and as visceral as possible is felt throughout the performance. Hill keeps the attention on her through this magnetic performance, even when you feel like you should look away. 

What is the true genius of this show is the unique incorporation of technology. Rather than act out these monologues towards the audience, Hill instead ‘livestreams’ the entire show. Speaking to her phone’s camera, her face is projected onto the wall in front of the audience, giving a whole new angle, literally, to the storytelling. Breaking traditional theatre etiquette, phones are to stay on and photos are encouraged. All of this combined with the very funny use of memes for those chronically online, provides a modern take to the theatre experience. 

This fresh take on staging works extremely well, achieving a number of objectives.  As an audience member, it creates a simulation as though we are her social media followers, watching from a distance as this young woman overshares her life dramas and crises. Moreover, it is also forms a clever commentary on how, in a world where we’re calling for people to be more “real” on social media, we’re actually not that comfortable when they do, particularly as Hill shows the warts and all side of mental health and trauma. 

The whole hour is a whirlwind. It goes without saying that there are a number of trigger warnings so do bear this in mind when attending. For the most part though, it feels like we’re being read Hill’s diary. If we were living in a different era, perhaps all of this would be kept to the pages of a notebook. Instead, Hill masterfully turns her pain into art and we’re simply along for the ride. 

Overshare is running at Greenwich Theatre until Sunday 25 May.

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Photo Credit: Joe Twigg