It feels fortuitous that Echo/Chamber makes its debut the same week as a scandal hinging on political doublespeak and the boundaries of truth and meaning. This is a show which tackles those very themes directly, so it all seems especially fresh and relevant to audiences. “Truth and politics don’t really go hand in hand,” one character astutely observes.

Echo/Chamber is a digital show that subtly reinterprets The Bacchae by Euripides, a savage and bloodthirsty Greek tragedy dating back to 405 BC. In the original source material, the King of Thebes is physically torn apart, and his head borne on a spike, as a punishment for angering the gods. Echo/Chamber is no less intense, albeit in a more oblique way. The gap between Ancient Greece and 2021 is cleverly bridged, and the visual motif of a sinister luminescent mask simultaneously calls to mind the Greek amphitheatre and the masks worn by Anonymous activists. The play takes the form of a sequence of encounters between Paul (a high-powered corporate figure) and Drew (a TikTok personality). The backdrop is an assault against Paul’s business empire by “The Bacchants,” an underground group of activists and anti-capitalist saboteurs. 

As Paul and Drew’s relationship develops, issues of entitlement and privilege soon take on a greater depth. There is a tense, Pinteresque iciness to their duologues, hinting at layers of meaning beneath the surface. “I know how the world works,” Paul assures Drew. But does he really?

“Who do you trust?” is a recurring question throughout, and is reflected in the play’s fascinating experimental structure modelled on a classic “choose your own adventure” format. At various turning points, the audience is invited to make a choice. To “choose what’s real,” as the narrator puts it. This is a clever move that sends the narrative in interesting directions while, as the title suggests, providing a reflection of the viewer’s own instincts and prejudices. It’s about agency in an age of disinformation. Do we have a choice? Or do we have the illusion of choice? 

Fundamentally, the strength of the piece lies in the performances of Isaac Hesketh and Oliver McFadden as the unlikely couple, as well as the tightness of the scripting. Though it’s a scant 45 minutes in duration, Echo/Chamber achieves a sweeping sense of scope in its compact run-time, tackles some interesting and troubling questions, and offers a bold new approach to theatrical entertainment. 

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Tom Mead

Echo/Chamber is showing as part of The Living Record’s digital line-up at Brighton Fringe until 27 June.