The Divine Fringe Presents…
Simone French: A Suffocating Choking Feeling
Would you lie for likes?
'A Suffocating Choking Feeling’ is a razor-sharp, satirical deep-dive into the dark side of social media, where fact and fiction blur and what wins is having a story worth telling...
Inspired by Australian influencer & cancer faker Belle Gibson (Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar & BBC’s Bad Influencer), this award-winning show blends pop-star fantasy with interactive live-streaming, inviting you to scroll, troll, and cancel Simone!
Simone Hamilton is a rising star singer and influencer who is navigating an illness online and desperate for her followers to double-tap her every move.
But in a world where every post is curated, how much of her story is true??
With dark humour, A Suffocating Choking Feeling plays with the dangerous obsession of crafting “authentic” versions of ourselves online.
BRING YOUR PHONE and LEAVE IT ON!
Winner of Best Contemporary & Experimental Performance – Melbourne Green Room Awards
"Not shying away from the provocative”– The Guardian
“A notorious collision between social media and the truth” – The Age
★★★★ “TomYumSim walk the fine line between madness and truth” – The Plus Ones
What sets this show apart from traditional shows is: It's unique blend of live performance and a simultaneous Instagram livestream. You will interact in real time with Simone via your phone - commenting, trolling and asking questions that become part of the performance itself.
Creator & Performer: Simone French
Director & Technical: Tom Halls
Technical Stage Manager: Nawel Kobb
Set & Costume: Rūta Irbīte
Outside Eye: Paula Varjack
Created with support from: Pleasance Theatre, Camden People’s Theatre, Omnibus Theatre, English Theatre Berlin, La Mama & Theatre Deli.
About TomYumSim:
TomYumSim (Tom Halls & Simone French) are a UK/Australian duo creating sharp, playful and unpredictable theatre that collides technology, music and performance. For the past 10 years, their award-winning work has toured internationally, blending liveness, interactivity and satire to explore how we connect, perform and pretend.
Recent Credits: Trainwreck (Croydonites Festival)- immersive theatre gone wrong that uses AI to fix itself, Hotline (Word of Warning/MIF)- one-to-one live phone performance turning the mundane into magic, The Salon (Cambridge Junction/Bridgewater Hall)- a surreal, self-care hair ritual, Be My Embrace Now (Manchester Pride), Rebels of Extinction (Manchester International Festival), String Lines (Royal Exchange Theatre), Rage Face (The Yard Theatre), Nothing Special (Melbourne Fringe/Camden People’s Theatre).
Duration: 60 minutes
THIS SHOW IS IN THE BASEMENT
Accessibility:
Sadly both floors of the divine are not currently accessible as we do not have a lift.
The ground floor, main bar of the divine has level access.
There is an accessible toilet in the main bar.
The cabaret and club space are in the basement of the venue, there is no lift.
There are 17 wide steps down to the basement with handrails on either side, this is where the show will take place.
There are two sets of gender-neutral toilets downstairs, they are not wide enough for wheelchairs.
If you need any further information please refer to the divine ‘about’ page on the website.
www.thedivine.co.uk
or email them direct on info@thedivine.co.uk
The Divine Accessibility Info & FAQs
Please note The Divine is a queer venue run by queer people, for queer people and their allies. We operate a zero-tolerance policy towards homophobia, transphobia, racism, misogyny and discrimination of any kind. Be respectful or you will be asked to leave. Strictly no office, hen or stag parties allowed.