Music, party and performance art collective Rinsed debuted their latest theatre project Under The Influencer last week in Bushwick, after more than a year of ideation, planning, writing and recording an original score, building out a unique set, script writing, revisions and rehearsals. The show is immersive, but not in the same way as Sleep No More or Then She Fell—it’s more lo-fi than that, and the audience doesn’t interact one-on-one with the performers. But, what Rinsed has produced this time around is an extremely engaging ravey rockout, and straight up funny.
The story follows a social media influencer character who temporarily loses the use of both his hands, so he can no longer share his totally badass Punk’D-meets-Razor-Scooter-extreme-sports #yolo #lyfe with his followers—and he’s traumatized. He reaches out to three other uber famous influencers for advice on how to cope, tapping a fashionista gal, a Burner yoga guru and an IG-famous dog. The show has some well-timed and relatable zingers, constantly poking fun at not just the influencer lifestyle, but also at how much of the average millenial’s daily life is reflected in social media’s dirty funhouse mirror.
The main character, the guru and the dog are all portrayed by Jordan Sarah, who seamlessly switches between three accents (American bro, Australian and German) and embodies his characters’ spirits fully and physically, while hitting all the #jokes with spot on comedic timing. The show also features real life social media influencer Annie Georgia Greenberg—IRL she has a few thousand more IG followers than Greenpointers—playing an annoyingly recognizable rosé drinking, avocado toast loving IT girl with a not-so-secret psychotic personality. And she’s fun to watch, playing and pandering to both the actual audience and her character’s social media audience.
The set is designed in the shape of a hexagon, with video screens interspersed with curtains that open to reveal a doorway into the lives of each character. As an audience member, you turn around to watch whichever character is revealed at that moment, and turn to watch whichever video screen you choose. The well-edited videos play frenetic clips that mock memes, social media, and pop culture, and play off the characters’ monologues. The audio sounds fantastic, but that’s not a surprise, given the fact that Dan Wender and Blacky II spent months working on the original electronic score (which is also an album), and they’re masters at sound setups for underground dance parties.
Under The Influencer ultimately asks some big questions—how much of our lives do we want to live online, and how much are we all truly #living? After the show I sort of felt compelled to disconnect my social accounts and only live purely, truly present in the moment. But did I? Nah, I wanna stay in the loop on when Rinsed is throwing their next party. #sorrynotsorry
The final two shows of Under The Influencer are this Friday and Saturday February 9th and 10th at 10pm; tickets are $15 and available here. (#protip: the secret location is off the G train).
