When seemingly-upstanding paramedic John becomes addicted to social media following a viral tweet he posts, he has little idea of how much this compulsion will consume him, as his plans to take revenge on a misogynistic tweeter threatens not only his health, job and relationship, but also his freedom.

This one-man play is a powerful depiction of one man’s descent into social media addiction and how it has devastating consequences for all aspects of his life. Playwright Tony Voller charts a clear trajectory of John’s decline, beginning with how his initial chasing of the high of getting likes develops into an unhealthy fixation on exacting revenge against the tweeter who threatens his girlfriend. Voller not only uses this structure to effectively depict the sheer extent of right-wing toxic masculine views amongst Twitter users, but also to show how easy it is for an outwardly-progressive man like John to start exhibiting some of these views himself.

Craig Barclay gives a fantastic performance as John, switching between multiple characters and accents at speed and propelling himself across the small stage to physically reenact precarious physical actions to do the work of an ensemble cast. In particular, he impresses in his transitions between John and his online persona, going from sensitive Scot to macho Cockney by not only changing his voice but also his body language from stillness to swaggering without missing a beat. In addition, Barclay manages to equally embody all the facets of John’s character, from his early stability to the gradual revelation of his own toxically masculine elements and his mental deterioration.

The dual strengths of the script and lead performance are what make Addict an unmissable and powerful play about an ever-growing contemporary social issue affecting many not only in Britain, but worldwide.

Addict has finished its run