Edinburgh fringe show takes aim at big tech's grip on our lives
Performer Hannah Maxwell's Edinburgh fringe show "Turn Your F*cking Phones Off" blends personal storytelling with karaoke and games to explore smartphone addiction and data-driven threats to democracy. The show runs at Summerhall until 31 August.
A new show at the Edinburgh fringe festival turns one performer's anxiety about the tech industry into a lively piece of theatre. Hannah Maxwell's "Turn Your F*cking Phones Off" combines personal confession with audience participation to examine how smartphones and algorithms shape modern life.
Last year, in her show "Babyfleareindeerbag," Maxwell tested several ideas for a future production as a kind of live market research. Rather than pursuing a gentler concept built around her father's teddy bear puppets, she chose to tackle a heavier subject: the influence wielded by technology companies.
Two intertwined stories
The title sounds like a command, but it is really a note Maxwell is writing to herself. The show centers on her own relationship with her smartphone — both the grip it has on her attention and the personal data it collects. Parts of the performance are delivered through an old-fashioned payphone.
The piece weaves together two narrative strands, interspersed with group karaoke and party games that involve the audience directly. One strand recounts her past work for a secretive organization involved in shaping public opinion, which included international travel, data collection and the spreading of subliminal messages.
The second strand traces her growing unease about her own screen habits and her part in a system that profits from division online — something she frames not as an accident, but as a deliberate strategy.
A digital detox and fears for democracy
The two threads converge as fallout from her earlier job sharpens her awareness of how algorithms shape everyday life. As she attempts a digital detox, stepping back from constant scrolling, she becomes increasingly worried about what she sees as a broader threat to democratic society.
Reviewers describe the show as combining serious critique with genuine humor, noting that the real connections formed with the audience stand in contrast to the divisive forces at work online.
"Turn Your F*cking Phones Off" is running at Summerhall in Edinburgh until 31 August.
