I HAVE NO ENEMIES Opens at Explosives Factory in April

Cyberpunk  detective story meets maniacal Ted talk meets live-action 90s hacker movie in absurdly entertaining theatre about the Surveillance Age.

‘Radical, ‘innovative', and ‘revolutionary' are not words you would immediately associate with the great soulless suburb of Canberra – but ACT-based Bare Witness Theatre Company are a group of artists who embody a rising counter-culture in the nation's capital. Their latest show, an absurdly entertaining examination of our current ‘age of surveillance', I Have No Enemies, is coming to Melbourne this April. Described as a mash-up between a “cyberpunk detective story, maniacal Ted talk , and live-action 90s hacker movie”, this is not your typical night at the theatre.

Unfortunately, issues like data security and mass surveillance, once niche interests confined to a tinfoil-hat wearing minority, are now everyone's concern. As the show's Director, Christopher Samuel Carroll, says:

“This is a show for anyone who engages, reluctantly or otherwise, with the Internet: anyone who can relate to the weird split-existence between the digital and the real world; the niggling sense of doubt that your Alexa is listening in on you; the guilty fascination of watching people overshare on Facebook; the psychological toll of doomscrolling horrific global events followed by cute cat videos; the impulse to disconnect, delete everything, and go off the grid – and knowing that that isn't an option in an increasingly digital world.”

Carroll was inspired to create the piece when working as an underpaid contractor for a transcription company. In the course of this job, he stumbled upon the recording of a voicemail which was full of sensitive information – creating an ethical dilemma that tapped into Carroll's underlying anxieties about the lackadaisical attitude that he, and most of the rest of us, have towards our personal data. Carroll responded the only way he knew how: by making a play. In a dubious sociological experiment, he and his fellow actors use the information in the voicemail to track down this “highly-vulnerable man from Brunswick with a silver Nissan”, to see what the process can teach them about surveillance.

If that all sounds very dark, it's supposed to be. But before long, the overwhelming scale of these issues, and the character's complete inadequacy to deal with them, means everything tips inevitably (and gloriously) into the absurd. “It's more fun than you ever thought a show about the terrifying, unblinking eye of mass surveillance could be!” Carroll says. “We break down a lot of fascinating, complex issues, alongside a staggering number of really dumb jokes – it's all quite sophisticated. “

Like a web browser with too many tabs open, the show skips back and forth between different threads: the ineffectiveness of 90s Hollywood movies to explain the internet; the all-encompassing obsession of a fictional video game, Tortoise Run; and the contrasting emotional journeys of the four characters as paranoia, conspiracy, and anarchy take hold.  Carroll says:

“We're a bunch of passionate, curious, and admittedly paranoid theatremakers, who are completely ill-equipped to deal with these issues. So you could say the show is basically some morons with a platform, loudly telling you stuff they know nothing about – which is a pretty good representation of the Internet, really.”

I Have No Enemies tours to Melbourne following a successful Canberra season in 2023. It opens at Explosives Factory, St Kilda, on Wednesday 10 April and runs for nine performances, until Saturday 20 April.

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