Many people may ask themselves, which effect Social Media actually has on our lives- what is beneficial about the use of it and when does it turn into a misuse? The borders between a virtual world and reality often become blurred and we all have to decide: Do we really need all the opportunities Social Media offers today, or would it be sometimes more advisable to take a break, to experience our real life more intensivly? The problem of Social Media addiction is a currently discussed topic, that is perhaps already embarrassing people, but when it came to the stage play ‘‘The SQ- Ware‘‘ of the Irish theatre group ‘‘Wild Shamrock Theatre‘‘ the students and teachers saw themselves confronted with an unconventional satire about the development of technology and the reasons, why Social Media take up even more space in our daily life.
With regard to the plot, the dream of an absolutely new experience of reality and the answer to all our problems seemed to come true in shape of ‘‘the SQ- Ware‘‘, an invention of technology, that promises to take out frustration, to connect you with the whole world and to make you happier in life. The ‘‘SQ- Ware‘‘ can actually been understood as the way Social Media works, including benefits and disadvantages. It could offer you opportunities you’ve never had before: By just holding it in front of your face, it could work like a filter, that washes away all the negative emotions and spreads positivity around you to get other people‘s attention and admiration. ‘‘Lying gets you likes‘‘, is a slogan the SQ- Ware acts upon, but if you don’t follow the rules of it, you will get punished by being ‘‘hated‘‘ and ashamed. For that reason, one of the protagonists took the decision to quit the project of the SQ- Ware as a kind of self- protection. The conclusion, that ‘‘although technology had developed excellent during the last years, you sometimes just need a break‘‘ was a statement, many people in the audience could identify with.
By the way the group presented the topic, the audience felt directly addressed and got involved into the plot, which was intended to reach the students more personally and showed up the impact, Social Media has on the individual person. Appealing to the spectator‘s imagination, they used tools like extreme exaggeration, likewise Social Media does in our daily life, to get their message across. In addition to that, the actors demanding for participation made it even more interesting and exciting. Furthermore, the Wild Shamrocks underlined their performance with songs, violin and guitar music, that introduced the audience a little bit into Irish culture and conveyed the group‘s joy to entertain the students and teachers. The charisma and temperament of the Irish actors could be felt by nearly everyone, and that went hand in hand with amusement and interest about the plot. Undoubtedly, the audience‘s pleasure was influenced by the sympathetic and warm- hearted impression the performers made, when they got into an exchange with it. At the end of their presentation, they were consent on having a small conversation about the story behind the ‘‘SQ- Ware‘‘ and their group dynamics. According to their background stories, they opened up to personal questions concerning their lifestyles and the time, they’re not busy of touring around.
The script of the SQ- Ware was written by Christopher Moran, who is a director, writer and musician for children’s theatre companies in Ireland. The decision of Wild Shamrock Touring Theatre to put the script into action was actually influenced by the personal fate of a lovely person in their company, who got addicted to the virtual world and had completely destroyed his reputation with it. At this occasion, the purpose in presenting the SQ- Ware is to point out the effects of the internet, that are detrimental for our mental health and to prombt debate about the consumption of Social Media. The performer‘s names are Siofra (21), Ciara (24) and Aidan (31) who are actors from Dublin, travelling through whole Europe as part of their job . Every year, they return to Germany and are still impressed by the German culture, they really like. The touring of the SQ- Ware lasts nine weeks and includes, in addition to the performances in Germany, places in Switzerland and Denmark. Moreover, they are very close to each other and spend a lot of their free time together, for example with playing cards for hours, having lunch together and doing sports like running. To sum up, the SQ- Ware was brilliantly put into action by the Irish actors and the personal sympathy for them was reflected in the enthusiastic atmosphere in the audience, that appriciated the performance a lot and enjoyed the great entertainment of Wild Shamrock Touring Theatre on 28th October 2019.
Maja Florence May (Q1)
