★★★
When aspiring actor Star Stone saw an ad looking for vegans to audition for a YouTube sketch show, she jumped at the chance. Little did she know that the clip would go viral, and she would become an internet villain overnight. Villain Era is a comedy multimedia show that tells Stone’s story of being viciously trolled for years after she was perceived as being aggressive, and the long-lasting effect it has had on her life.
The concept of the show, she explains, was to find out who was the meat eater in the small group of vegans. With a cash prize at stake, she presumes it is the contestant who joined the group last, and begins to interrogate them, but her theory is wrong. The final version is edited so that Stone comes across as a militant vegan, and a villain in the public’s eyes.
Stone uses a projector to show clips from the sketch show, and the reaction from the public. This integrates well into the show, and is used particularly effectively to show her auditions and conversations with the casting director. Seeing her talk to someone via videocall adds a touch of realism to the play, and she plays the role of a nervous young actor perfectly.
The show ends on a strong message: what people say about you is none of your business. But the middle of the show is convoluted and veers away from the main plotline. Stone has everything in this show from a karaoke session and small snippets of poetry, to a range of characters such as Ego and Gut. Often she jumps into other topics, such as her health issues and her concern she has undiagnosed ADHD. These feel unnecessary, and unfortunately do let the performance down a bit. All of these elements are amazing on their own – for instance, her characterisation and acting is strong, and the spoken word parts, while only small sections, are powerful – yet together, it’s simply a bit much and does make it difficult to follow.
While Villain Era is billed as a comedy, the show feels more like a piece of theatre with all the extra elements thrown in. This is understandable, as arguably there isn’t a lot of room for humour when someone is receiving death treats for simply playing a game on a silly YouTube video. At times, some of her jokes do not land with a Scottish audience due to references to US pop culture, but the small audience did not help with this either.
There’s no doubt that Stone is a talented performer, and her story is an important one that needs to be told. It’s hard to believe that people can be so nasty over a YouTube sketch, but seeing and hearing these words on the screen adds an extra dimension, and really emphasises how shocking the comments are. From the hour-long show, it is obvious that she is bursting with creativity, and I would love to see her perform again at future Fringe festivals.
Villain Era will be performed at Greenside @ George Street – Olive Studio until 24 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe 2024.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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