Writer: Susan Momoko Hingley
Director: Ragga Dahl Johansen
Petal is thrust into the limelight on popular reality show ‘Love Loft’, instantly gaining a huge social media following and adoring fans. Initially hoping to use her newfound fame to elevate her baking business, she gets caught up in the excitement of popularity and influence. But the more famous she becomes, the more trolls and negative comments she attracts, quickly realising that ignoring the influx of hatred on a daily basis is the hardest thing she’s encountered.
In a time where reality shows are the height of popular television, with ordinary people becoming celebrities overnight, Petal is extremely relevant. Slogans such as ‘be kind’ have swept the nation, encouraging people to stop the online hate and to humanise the people behind the screen. Maryhee Yoon does a great job of portraying Petal’s plight on stage, slowly showcasing her breakdown in a way that feels saddeningly realistic. Her on-stage sister Mina played by writer Susan Momoko Hingley, forcefully leads a campaign against trolling, and the uncaring execs at the TV network (Geraint Rhys, passionately getting her points across to the audience alongside Petal’s love interest Alex (Jonathan Oldfield).
While Hingley does explore issues of cyber bullying and the dark places it can take people to, it’s very much done on a surface level basis. It would be great to push the boundaries more and dive deeper to bring something fresher and more original to the stage. With a narrative similar to a multitude of shows, short films and TV storylines, nothing new is explored, which at points is disappointing considering the wide scope of opportunity that could be utilised. In addition, there are various scenes throughout the show that are almost repeats of each other, and although could be there to highlight the constant cycle of online trolling and the ease that people can get sucked into being a keyboard warrior, they still fall slightly flat and leaves the audience craving variety.
However familiar the narrative is, it is a show that explores creativity well. Using a conceptual, abstract style within various scenes, the cast enact multiple emotive dreamlike sequences to showcase a character’s inner turmoil. One specific scene with a trio of ring-lights and screens is spectacularly gripping, an innovative way to express the characters mental state.
A modern play with a moral centre, Petal tells the story of many, hopefully making an audience think twice before posting that crippling comment or harrowing hashtag.
Runs until 29 May 2022
