Edinburgh Fringe 2024
FAMEHUNGRY
Louise Orwin
Genre: Dark Comedy, Digital, Experimental, Performance Art
Venue: Summerhall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An audacious dive into the world of TikTok, offering a unique blend of live theatre and social media commentary. This performance art piece is an exploration of the absurdity and allure of TikTok, engaging both a live audience and, online, the platform’s users in a strange, often surreal experience.
A bold, in-your-face piece that challenges our perceptions of social media. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s undeniably thought-provoking and a striking reflection on the digital age.
Review
FAMEHUNGRY by Louise Orwin is as an audacious dive into the world of TikTok, offering a unique blend of live theatre and social media commentary. This performance art piece is an exploration of the absurdity and allure of TikTok, engaging both a live audience and the platform’s users in a strange, often surreal experience.
As we walk into the space, we’re met with a stage that feels like a live-streaming studio: a desk, webcam lights, tripods, screen displaying Orwin’s TikTok account, already streaming with comments being posted. There is also a large teddy bear in a chair. The show starts with Orwin setting up her camera phone, staring into her phone camera, preparing to start the show, repeating the line, “just waiting for a few more people to join,” over and over. This opening is both excruciating and hilarious—a bleak reflection of the relentless pursuit of online validation.
Orwin’s performance cleverly blurs the line between critique and participation. The live stream running on TikTok feels like a genuine social experiment. I found myself more captivated by the screen than the performer, watching the comments from TikTok users roll in. It’s a fascinating dynamic—those in the theatre are privy to the deeper commentary and analysis, while the TikTok viewers have no idea they’re part of a performance. Some even express concern that Orwin might be performing under duress, adding an unintentional layer of absurdity and comedy to the experience.
However, the show is heavily reliant on technology, and when it fails, so does some of the magic. The livestream cut out about 15 minutes in, forcing Orwin to switch to another account with fewer followers. While she handled the technical difficulties with admirable improvisation, the disruption diminished the sense of being part of something larger and more interconnected.
A further layer of technical input is Jaxon Valentine, a 20-year-old TikToker with a huge follower count, on a video link to one side of the stage. She acts as a kind of mentor, exploring with Orwin what it takes to attain TikTok fame and how to tailor her content to achieve that goal of 10,000 likes for each show (not achieved the day I saw it, but even with the change of account and tech issues, she still achieved something around 7,000).
Despite the technical hiccups, this is a powerful piece that captures the frenetic, fragmented nature of social media. Orwin nails the balance between critiquing TikTok and participating in it, creating a self-deprecating yet engaging commentary on the platform she’s using. The metatheatrical elements—showing her script on screen, questioning her actions, and even interacting with the TikTok comments—add layers of depth and intrigue to the performance.
Yet, for all its energy and innovation, this show isn’t for everyone. It will probably resonate more with those who understand its intricacies. It’s bewildering for those unfamiliar with TikTok. The sheer mundanity of much that is posted on the platform is highlighted, reminding us that it’s the dance routines and quirky challenges that often gain the most attention rather than more substantial content (although it is used by many in education and health to reach younger people). And shows how hard and relentless creating content is for anyone trying to make a living from it.
Overall, FAMEHUNGRY is a bold, in-your-face piece that challenges our perceptions of social media. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s undeniably thought-provoking and a striking reflection on the digital age.
