if not this then that – FUSEBOX, London

Creator: Wild Guess

if not this then that is an instruction-based participatory play musing on the long-term impacts of the formation of Boolean logic on the modern world. While all audience members play some part, the main character is the text that appears on screen, alternating between instructions for the audience to speak or act and its own interjections.

Wild Guess helpfully opens if not this then that by making the space feel welcome, inviting audience members to engage together in a collaborative task that forces them to talk to one another. Refreshingly, this ice-breaker task ends up neatly cohering with critical later points in the performance. This is not the only aspect of if not this then that which is neatly thought out, instructions are by and large crafted to carefully have their desired effect. The text allows for moments of laughter, with much of the humour grounded in the inherent awkwardness of audience members being asked to drive forward the play itself.

Nevertheless, if not this then that features less of a plot and more of a handful of concerns. Its invitation to piece together its elements into a wider framework of understanding is loosely offered, but the greater problem is that the historical facts and present-day concerns being lumped together are neither so obscure that they are revelatory, nor so disparately connected in our lives that the link drawn between them comes as a surprise. Despite this, the concerns of if not this then that are important and promising. There may be something more to uncover in connecting techno-colonialism beyond George Boole and drawing more from the history of Boole’s students.

Perhaps too much time is given to organic audience interaction, with time lagging somewhat towards the end. But in its current form, if not this then that is thought-provoking and the audience-led format succeeds in creating brief moments of accidental poignance. Highly interactive work will not be to every audience’s taste, but if not this then that is for those unafraid to try something new and consider the world from a slightly wider perspective.

Reviewed on 3 July 2026