Panic Stations (2023-)

Panic Stations! is/was a new small scale studio show driven by Unlimited Core Artist Rachael Abbey‘s fascination with conspiracy theories and the social divides they can provoke.

When does a rumour become a conspiracy theory?
How can we trust what we are being told?
What is truth?

All big questions for a little show. A mix of truth, psychology and storytelling, Rachael uses comedy as a tool to tackle taboo subjects and, in this case, to unpick the psychosocial consequences of conspiracy theories.

“Myths, hearsay and misinformation have been rife throughout the global COVID-22 pandemic as people try to make sense of a rapidly changing world. Where is the point when something goes from being weirdly coincidental to a conspiracy theory, and how can we debunk these myths whilst bringing people back together? As with all the work that I create, the piece will be playful, funny and honest and will start conversations about how we start to move collectively forward as a society in a post-truth era.”

Using autobiographical narratives, Panic Stations! contextualises how difficult situations in our personal lives are often rationalised in unique ways in order to process them and move on, and how this process relates to the generation and belief of conspiracy theories.