Teh Internet is Serious Business...and quite dangerous too

By Amy Stow

Teh Internet is Serious Business is a timely piece depicting the draw and threat of hacktivist sites and groups, such as Anonymous, for both perpetrators and victims alike. Hiding behind their anonymity, Tim Price’s new play at the Royal Court shows how 6 unlikely individuals form the core circle of one of the biggest hacktivist operations of our time.

Jake – an 18-year-old agoraphobic from the Shetland Islands – and Mustafa – a 15-year-old stuttering schoolboy from Southwark – are the only two characters from this inner circle that we see in the ‘offline’ world. Jake’s stepfather has died and his mother is unable to cope. Mustafa’s social awkwardness means he is generally friendless. Both boys seek solace and companionship via the Internet, where the colourful online world juxtaposes sharply with the drab bedroom and basement atmospheres of the users’ offline worlds. Given the squalid, difficult, or simply dull lifestyles of all the users IRL (in real life), it becomes easy to see the attraction of the Internet, with its flourishing, characterful communities of likeminded individuals.

Anonymous members first get serious when they take down the main Scientology website and portal, through proxies, trolling and hacking, and use viral videos to drum up support and publicity. The core team of 6 members then move on to more illegal methods to bully organisations in a bid to exercise their ‘democratic right to protest’. Of course, as the organisations get bigger – Sony, the FBI, the CIA – the threats on the users’ identities get stronger, and more real, with arrests slowly being made that in turn generate a breeding ground for fear and rebellion.

This is an accomplished troupe of acting. The cast of 15 multirole effortlessly, forming a busy, often chaotic atmosphere filled with users and memes such as the Socially Awkward Penguin and Advice Dog. There is always activity and movement to capture the ceaseless buzz of online communication. Eileen Walsh impresses with her array of characters – the schoolteacher being one of my favourite – and Ferdinand Kingsley is hilarious as hacking genius Ryan Cleary.

But most praise is reserved for both Kevin Guthrie (Jake) and Hamza Jeetooa (Mustafa), who spur much of the action as two of the elite hacktivists on Anonymous. When the pair finally meet in the last scene, their youth betrays them as they giggle at the seriousness of their crimes, providing a moving and frustrating finale. These boys – or rather, boys like these – will be back. In the chilling words of the Anonymous promotional video – the Internet ‘does not forget’.

With Internet addiction posing a serious threat to mental and physical health –depression being cited as one of the most common mental health problems caused by Internet addiction – Teh Internet is Serious Business depicts the voice of a disgruntled, disillusioned generation, and highlights the consequences of this free-for-all platform for venting this frustration. With 4chan recently releasing naked photos of female celebrities, and threatening to release more of Emma Watson, it is clear that nothing is sacred in cyberspace. And whilst hacktivists are rightly punished for criminal activity, I, for one, found myself championing the underdog.

Thus Hamish Pirie’s accomplished production reveals that the situation is not as black and white as it may seem, and if the onstage ball pool and neon lights are anything to go by, it would seem that, au contraire, Teh Internet is Serious Business appears to be dealing acutely in technicolour.

★★★★

Teh Internet Is Serious Business

Royal Court, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs

25th Sept – 25th Oct

7.30pm

@PostScriptJour

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