Overshare by Eleanor Hill Review
Overshare production image. Photo by Joe Twigg photography
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings: Suicide, drug abuse, self harm, bereavement, rape, depression, abuse, trauma, blood, cannibalism, porn, murder and anxiety. Age guidance: 16+
Created, written, performed and produced by Eleanor Hill, Overshare is an exploration of the realities of mental health and trauma in the age of social media. As Hill directs her monologues into her omnipresent phone and live streams her performance on a screen at the back of the stage, the audience is asked to consider “do we consume social media or does it consume us?”.
Overshare has been developed out of Hill’s 2021 solo play, SAD-VENTS, which in turn is based on her self-described 2020 “breakdown on Instagram”. It’s deeply personal and offers an unflinching look at the trauma that has led to this mental health crisis.
Its subject matter is not for the faint-hearted, but while we are warned of the themes covered in the show by its content warning, we are also reminded that it is actually a comedy. It’s a big responsibility to take such challenging and triggering themes and write a show that respects how serious they are, but also injects much needed humour into it.
Hill has definitely managed this. She has struck an excellent balance both in her writing and her performance. She has incredible energy, and although the show is mostly delivered with a ridiculously fast and manic pace, we don’t miss a word as her diction is crystal clear.
The set draws us into her messy bedroom in her dad’s house. The story is delivered through a series of monologues with titles like “An Apple a Day”, “Dead Mum” and “Problematic Wanks” projected onto the back wall. Designed by Constance Villemot, the set is a perfect reflection of the chaotic story being told. Video design from Matt Powell is extremely effective – with projections and animations illustrating the story. Inevitably, your attention is drawn to the live stream, with Hill’s face larger than life, exaggerating every expression and adding impact to her narrative.
The tone is set from the start with an angry rant about her dead mum and the way people tiptoe around the subject; it’s confrontational and borderline offensive, but certainly grabs our attention. She is furious with her ex, Mark, but obsessively stalks him on social media, pausing only to scream obscenities at him into her phone. This rage is a little overwhelming and relentless at times, so it is a relief when a more childlike persona takes over with references to her childhood toy, Squizz the squirrel (played by Squizz the squirrel), and a long-time love of the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the original with Gene Wilder, obviously). The ranting goes on, maybe slightly too long, but when the tone suddenly shifts, it is all the more shocking because of what has gone before. Hill’s delivery changes as she describes a deeply traumatic event and how it has affected her.
As you’d expect from its title, Overshare includes deeply personal revelations that will resonate with a lot of audience members – the death of a parent, a break up, domestic violence and feelings of hopelessness and suicidal ideation. But even if this is not your lived experience, it’s easy to empathise with Hill as the play is delivered with such honesty and humour. Running at just over an hour, it is a little draining as it’s a real assault on the senses, but it’s also highly entertaining and powerful.
In the show information handed out, Hill suggests some things she’d like to read in her reviews, including “OMG she’s so funny” and “She is the moment”. These rather shallow platitudes don’t do the show justice as they are not enough to stress the excellence of the performance and the importance of her play in tackling the stigma around mental health.
Overshare’s Greenwich run coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week (12th-18th May 2025), and Eleanor Hill has partnered with South East London Mind to share the work that they do with a wider audience. They will be releasing videos to talk about how they support people and also answering (again in video form) mental health-related questions sent in to oversharetheplay@gmail.com with the subject line MHAW Q&A Question Submission.
Overshare runs at Greenwich Theatre until Sunday 25th May 2025. Find out more and book here.
★★★★
