Writers and Directors: Joe Maddalena and Gianluca Scatto
Self-Help is a moving and entertaining performance about mental health and modern life co-written by Joe Maddalena and Gianluca Scatto. Performed solo by Maddalena and accompanied by live music, sound recordings, and video projection, this 60-minute dark comedy takes direct aim at the plethora of toxic influencers on social media. The show is mainly comprised of sharply observed vignettes that capture the coercive nature of the modern internet. It is Maddalena’s compelling presence and the often razor-sharp one-liners that drive this surreal show.
John Scott is a young, handsome, talented guitar player and songwriter. English graduate. Friends love him. He has a whole life ahead of him. Or so it would seem to anyone looking from the outside. Not so for John Scott. John has locked himself in his room and is not coming out. He is not liked, not clever, not handsome, “I look sort of like the guy from Ratatouille”. John is worthless, so when scrolling through the deluges of mindless social media posts and podcasts, “What would happen if everyone became snakes? Just think about that”, he happens across Dan with a Plan and listens. Dan with a Plan is American, loud, confident, and cool. Subscribe to his app, his channel, his life, and become another you. A better you. A different you. John buys the app, but then Dan with a Plan appears in his room, and things take an absurdly darker turn.
Maddalena seamlessly performs both John and Dan. With little more than a change of accent and a simple sidestep movement, they both appear on stage simultaneously. It’s a simple device that also serves as a metaphor. Dan and Scott are terrifyingly two sides of one person. We see the transformation and witness the disturbing power that these media influencers have. Dan also wears a kind of varsity jacket, but Maddalena struggles to get it on, and this then becomes part of the performance and a running joke throughout the show. This is down to Maddalena’s presence on stage where he is clearly at ease. There is an especially funny bit where Maddalena, as Dan, interacts with the audience.
We witness in real time the rigid and ridiculous steps that John must go through to complete Dan’s plan. Dan’s app starts with a series of workouts. “Easy, Intermediate, or Difficult”? asks the bot. “Easy” replies John. “Coward” the bot snides, before taking him through a series of runs, sit-ups, push-ups, and planks. All of these Maddalena performs in real-time, including a full one-minute plank. It’s exhausting for both John and Maddalena, and terribly sad for us watching John struggle. He is a loser. He can’t even complete this simple task. Of course, in reality, it’s not achievable. Even the bot is laughing at him behind his back.
The gentle and kind John starts to disappear as he is set up for failure, driving him deeper into a world of addictive self-help platforms. The obnoxious Dan is projected onto a large screen spouting TikTok video affirmations from his poolside villa in Europe. It looks believable but also somewhat fake. Could this have been filmed by Maddalena while on holiday? It’s a clever conceit that serves as a jibe at those staged videos of influencers seemingly wandering around their own mansions and million-pound sports cars.
As writers, it would be interesting to know if Maddalena or Scatto have a story that brought them here. Maybe there isn’t a clear line where John starts and Maddalena ends. In the intimate space of the Canal Cafe Theatre, playing to a full house, John’s confessions to us of insecurity feel misplaced. And really this is the point. When Maddalena breaks off and looks at the audience to remind us of the high number of young men who do not talk about their feelings, struggle alone, and feel isolated with anxiety and depression, it’s a stark reminder of why we are in crisis. Young people are susceptible to the control of others when working out who they are. If we feel vulnerable it’s all too easy to believe Dan’s mantra: “Give people what they want, even if it’s not you”.
Runs until 26 August
Camden Fringe runs until 27 August 2023
The Reviews Hub Score
Poignant, funny, and clever
