Ever feel like you’re being watched? You probably are, bitch.
Piece of Me, currently playing at Camden People’s Theatre, is a thought-provoking yet humorous piece of theatre which combines a love of Britney Spears with childhood girlband dreams and data privacy. Created by and starring Claire Gaydon, this is a show that ticks all the boxes for pop culture lovers, is laced with nostalgia, and makes you question everything you thought you knew about privacy in the 21st century.
The play centres around Claire, firstly in her primary school era, who dreams of being a popstar like her hero Britney Spears. Teaming up with her best friends Natalie and Chloe (played by the brilliant Yasser Zadeh & Alex Roberts respectively), they form BabyFaceBland – a girlband who are the talk of the school with their earworm tracks and memorable dance moves.
We see them grow over the years, as they manoeuvre through high school and gain notoriety in their hometown of Lincoln. They even film their own music video and get to record at the school’s recording studio. However, this is where the cracks start to show, with complaints that Natalie can’t sing (leading to her doing speaking-only parts in songs) and Chloe being the victim of revenge porn.
Around the halfway point, Claire addresses the audience about what inspired the show, detailing an incident which happened to her and was caught on CCTV. The transition is a little clunky and comes out of nowhere, however, sets the tone for the rest of the performance. Claire goes on to discuss surveillance and privacy, also partly inspired by Britney Spears’ own experiences in the public eye. This leads to wondering what would happen if BabyFaceBland got back together, or if the girls started selling their own facial recognition technology instead.
Piece of Me is an interesting hour or so which puts the spotlight on a topic which we don’t often see in theatre. There is no doubting Claire’s talents as a performer – she is a captivating storyteller, and delivers a relatable piece of theatre. Teaming up with Yasser and Alex is a stroke of genius too – whilst Claire plays the ‘main character’, the duo certainly make their mark and provide huge laughs across the theatre. As a trio, BabyFaceBland signifies a universal experience that many of us had growing up – creating and performing our own songs in the playground, although few girlbands make it past the barriers of the school yard!
The show features an intriguing concept and whilst enjoyable, it would benefit from being a tad longer to ensure that the themes were thoroughly explored, with a more streamline transition from girlband dreams to the serious topic of surveillance and privacy.
The relationship between the three performers is the highlight of this show, along with the fun soundtrack made up of remastered versions of Claire’s original songs by music producer James Jacob aka Jakwob (Charli XCX, Little Simz, Shygirl). The small stage was also used to its full potential, with the use of on screen visuals and props to create different scenarios. We also can’t forget to mention the iconic choreo, which was reminiscent of any 90s pop lover performing in front of the mirror in their bedroom!
Overall, Piece of Me is a compelling show which will leave you considering the ethics of privacy and surveillance in a new way. Plus, it’s a must see for any Britney fan (or anyone who grew up loving pop music in the 90s/00s).
Piece of Me plays at Camden People’s Theatre until June 1.