Verbatim plays have long been a staple of #politicaltheatre and Bristol-based multi.modal.theatre adds to the tradition with their timely piece “Those People”: A Play About QAnon. Using online interviews and the subreddit r/Qanoncasualties as a starting point, the company plunges us headlong into the experiences of people who currently subscribe to the #Qanon conspiracy theory, ex-believers, along with friends and family members who have been affected by it. The Good: In many ways, multi.modal.theatre is the ideal company to explore this topic. Self-described as “very online”, and firmly based in digital theatre, they excel at conveying the virtual experience. We especially ❤️ the synchronous monologues (dynamically performed by @victoriaafinch, @natty.wilson, @claudia_marks and @stephenmurph_) which perfectly mirror a subreddit chat and the clever use of web-cams with just a hint of lag, reminding you that these interactions (like most on the web) are not quite in real time. The Strange: A lot of the stagecraft is devoted to abstract activity— filling cups with water, emptying and refilling glass jars with stones, popping balloons, climbing a step ladder, using a fan as a gong (?). These visual elements were hard to decipher and proved distracting, drawing our attention away from the monologues. The Questionable — A real strength of the piece is its “no-judgement” approach to interviewees, who freely express their views on a number of controversial subjects. When some comments are openly anti-semitic, though, it does raise the question of whether this approach exceeds the point of tolerance. We’re reminded of #YehudaBauer’s maxim: “Thou shall not be a perpetrator, thous shall not be a victim, and thou shall never, but never, be a bystander.” Does presenting extreme, anti-semitic views without any commentary push the company (and the audience) into the role of bystanders, i.e. poor allies to an oft marginalised community? We’re not sure.