5 💉💉💉💉💉 Rating, Off-Broadway

Privacy

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Privacy The Public Theater PRIVACY A New Play Created by James Graham & Josie Rourke Written by James Graham Directed by Josie Rourke In a co-production with the Donmar Warehouse Scenic Design by Lucy Osborne Costume Design by Paul Tazewell Lighting Design by Richard Howell Sound Design by Lindsay Jones Projection Design by Duncan McLean Original Music by Michael Bruce Featuring De’Adre Aziza, Raffi Barsoumian, Michael Countryman, Rachel Dratch, Daniel Radcliffe, Reg Rogers

Privacy
Created by James Graham & Josie Rourke
Written by James Graham
Dircted by Josie Rourke
Starring Daniel Radcliffe
The Public Theatre in association with Donmar Warehouse
July 20, 2016

Production website
💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.

My mind is blown. What the hell just happened? It was a technological “take me to church” experience.

Example: Take out your cell phone. Do it now! Open Google. In the search box type only the following – and do not hit enter. “IS IT WRONG TO”. What you will see is a half a dozen possibilities that Google is assuming that you want to see. But how is this assumption made? Hum? It has been watching and recording every single thing that you have done on your phone and – – it knows. It knows. Privacy is a lost issue in the modern world. Name the last ah-ha moment you had, the last win or loss, the last political insight, the last picture of your puppy that you didn’t share on the internet. See? It has your everything. Nothing is or will be private anymore.

This show just wowed me from start to finish. Privacy is actually a perfect example of epic theatre where we are given a bit of a story line, but we are constantly pulled out of it for the sake of NOT getting emotionally attached and to get THINKING about our subject. Multi-media does not begin to cover what happens in this theatre! The show is stopped throughout and the cast works directly with the audience on their cell phone (yes, you are ASKED to keep it running the full show). You are told apps to go to and settings to see. You are asked to actually send the show data live – – all to let you know that you are VERY MUCH NOT ALONE. How we date, shop, move, eat and love is all there as metadata waiting to be explored or exploited.

There are secrets to this show – big secrets. Secrets to this show that my 30 years of watching plays did not prepare me for. They got me. They got me good. BUT, as Daniel Radcliffe reminded us in the curtain speech – to NOT share the “tricks of the show – but to allow it to be a surprise to future theatre goers.” I respect that. But does Daniel Radcliffe wish to keep this secrets private? Private for too long? I doubt it.

Run, rush, and upload yourself to this theatre. It is the ultimate hyperlinking orgy.

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