My overall impression
I wanted to see Hashtag from the moment I first saw their logo, which so beautifully depicted the message of the show – that social media can imprison us. My favorite moment of the show was when that message was made physical onstage.
Their reference to Brecht (“yeccch,” I believe they described it) was clever, especially considering that each scene was prefaced with a hash tag describing (or titling) what followed. It smacked of the distancing/alienation effects of which Brecht was so fond. As did the social media interaction component, which was very interesting to me. I took the opportunity to live-tweet the show as they invited, and it was fun to come up with related hashtags and ‘participate’ in the process. With my attention torn, it put all the more distance between myself and the characters. I have a feeling that was intentional, that its purpose was to make manifest the very isolation that social media can create. But unfortunately, it kept me from getting into the play as much as I could have (and perhaps as much was needed, considering the material’s episodic nature.) I would recommend live-tweeting, so long as kept minimal – I did too much. But the show was certainly food for thought, nonetheless.
