Teh Internet is Serious Business, Royal Court Downstairs - theatre review: 'a rowdy, gag-filled, jubilant tour of cyberspace's in-jokes'

Tim Price's new play does a credible job of evoking the maverick spirit of hacktivism — the practice of using cyber attacks for political ends. Based on the testimony of members of the LulzSec collective, a vigilante offshoot of the Anonymous movement, it's an anarchic experience, laced with a caustic sense of humour.

Its two main characters are gauche Jake (Kevin Guthrie) and stammering Mustafa (Hamza Jeetooa). These teenage loners are blessed with technical wizardry and an instinct for mischief.

Hamish Pirie’s production boasts a turbo-charged ensemble. But its boldest feature is the absence of computer screens. Instead of pixels or projections we’re treated to a smartly metaphorical vision of the internet’s messiness — its hoaxes, fads and jargon, as well as the gang mentality it engenders. And while Chloe Lamford’s set hints at the perils of the dark web, a pool full of plastic balls downstage is an inviting playground.

Although you don’t need to be conversant with phenomena such as 4chan and Botnets to grasp what’s going on, parts of the play will feel esoteric to anyone not steeped in digital know-how. In the second half we focus on the authorities’ bid to stifle the hackers, but the more wide-ranging and bloated first half is a rowdy, gag-filled, jubilant tour of cyberspace’s in-jokes.

There’s an incomplete sense of both the chaos LulzSec caused and their intelligence. Yet this is a timely piece, entertaining and unsettling.

Until October 25 (020 7565 5000, royalcourttheatre.com)