With the show’s title, ‘I Watched Someone Die on TikTok,’ I had no idea what to expect from this show. All I knew was that it would be a one-person show. Sometimes these can be the best sorts of shows without any preconceived ideas.

As part of the Perth Fringe Festival, WAAPA alumnus Charlotte Otton delivers a quirky, commentary-style and partial biographical performance involving her relationship with the internet and social media.

Although the performance is delivered in a humorous manner, it touches on serious topical issues such as social media addiction, minors on social media, cyber-bullying and the multitude of disturbing content found on the internet.

Charlotte takes the audience on a journey from the early stages of the internet in the early 90s to the colossal digital platform it now is.

She makes a point of how the internet is filled with so much dark content and how easily accessible this content is to any person of any age. This content she refers to includes people dying in hospitals, beheadings and people being beaten to death. In the early internet days, it may have been a bit tricky, but certainly not impossible, to access such content, but nowadays, videos, regardless of whether they are age-appropriate or not, so easily pop up in social media feeds.

The strong grip social media has on people’s lives is real, and Charlotte brings this to focus. In one segment, the absurdity of some of the TikTok challenges is brought to life as she playfully takes up the challenge that the audience selects for her.

Any person who is guilty of doom-scrolling will relate to Charlotte’s commentary.

I found this show immensely entertaining and Charlotte to be an outstanding solo performer. I never knew which way the show would go or what Charlotte would do next. Mirroring much of how Tik Tok operates, she performs multiple segments in the show at a fast pace—keeping the attention of the audience glued to the stage.