Opening the Croydonites Festival of New Theatre, Hannah Maxwell’s one-woman show, Turn Your F*cking Phones Off, is an excoriating look at misinformation, data manipulation and the toxicity of social media.
The piece has already won a slew of awards, including The Stage Fringe Five of Edinburgh’s Breakout Theatremakers. Maxwell’s performance is part Ted Talk, part autobiographical stand-up, as she describes her phone addiction and attempt to detox. And a secret job that she shouldn’t talk about, but does. The focus on how big tech and shadowy crypto-corporations systematically harvest individuals’ data and manipulate algorithms to create societal division, skew politics, control people and money is frighteningly topical, relevant and important. There’s talk of Russian troll farms, Palantir, Greenland, a missing Estonian woman and Soviet research into yoghurt-based immortality.
This all sounds very serious. And it is. But Maxwell injects a huge amount of wit and fun into the performance, creating different characters as she shows the various sides of her persona. The Front Room in Croydon is a small theatre space, perfect for Maxwell’s intimate performance style. She’s fiercely intelligent and passionate and has produced a show packed with thought-provoking content. She urges people to turn off their phones and talk to people – not just those we agree with but also to get to know people who don’t share the same views. Stop doomscrolling, start connecting in real life.
The Festival, showcasing local Croydon theatre makers, is at various venues until 21st November. Tickets and more information on the shows is at: https://www.croydonites.com/
Reviewer: Carole Gordon
Reviewed: 4th November 2026
North West End UK Rating: