Deeply visceral, tragically satirical
If you have the chance to see this show, or you’re reading this review before deciding to purchase a ticket. Stop what you’re doing, book the ticket, then continue reading.
You won’t be disappointed.
‘I Bought A Flip Phone’ is an excellently built piece. A one-man show with a single prop, the eponymous flip phone. The set for this show is minimal, but with a piece like this, anything more would be distracting.
Panos, the writer and performer, is pure joy to watch on stage. From the moment he entered, the bubbly personality he exudes almost makes you forget you’re watching a piece of theatre. His addressing to the audience catching you off-guard at first but soon find yourself sucked into the world of the character, Charlie. If you’re lucky, some of the more invested audience members will become a second source of entertainment as they buy into the conversational aspect of the piece and start addressing Charlie as if having a natter with a friend.
The piece is excellently paced, allowing enough foreshadowing of the true reasons behind Charlie’s choice of purchasing a flip phone that make it feel like a genuine confession. Panos is unnaturally natural throughout, offering us a tender but also wonderfully entertaining character to journey through the play with.
I can truly say the show struck a powerful chord with me, and I imagine the entire audience. The way Panos strips back the guise of sensibility we all hold and the masquerade of being happier than we may really be feeling is darkly humorous and powerfully heart-rending. The play certainly gives credit to the phrase “many a true word hath been spoken in jest.” While the show may start as a ‘TED Talk’ on the evils of smartphones. We soon see the truth of what is really going on. With a focus on ‘Golden Age Syndrome’ and the duality of life that we all can relate to. I think we all can feel like Charlie, and listening to this piece brought a full spectrum of emotions that I was certainly not prepared for.
I left this show with a deep sense of catharsis and a little more understanding of myself, seeing much of my own thoughts and feelings bared out by another just goes to show how common these situations really are. Panos has done an excellent job of capturing the human condition and is well deserved of all congratulations to him with this piece.
In conclusion, I highly recommend seeing this show if you get the chance. Though I can’t say I recommend actually buying a flip phone.