★★★★
Sophie Smyth’s one-woman show Subplot is a deep dive (one of many deep-sea puns you can look forward to) into the Oceangate Titan submersible that imploded in 2023: the people in it, behind it, and what happened after it all went wrong.
The show is cleverly written. It alternates between PowerPoint-style presentations about the Titan and the story of Smyth’s personal hyperfixation on it, and a more immersive re-enactment of the expedition itself, framed as if we the audience were the “mission specialists” (Oceangate’s jargon for paying customer) being led by Smyth into the depths. The latter provided necessary tonal counterbalance and structure to the former, but it was Smyth’s high-octane explanations that are the heart of the show. Speaking from personal experience, translating a niche autistic hyperfixation into something of general appeal is no mean feat, but an Aussie charm offensive and some obviously keen-eyed script editing kept the show funny and engaging throughout.
That which was occasionally less convincing was due to the moral ambiguity we all recognised when the incident happen – how to the balance its absurd, dark comedy and the tragic loss of life. Smyth’s memes, bits, and mockeries of people involved made the moments of pathos sit uneasily; it was hard to buy into her genuine identification with the man whose ego and unimaginable privilege lead directly to the death of five innocent people. Perhaps she is just more magnanimous than I. The show’s ending did achieve a moment of true pathos, however, fitting a wonderful show on a topic I never quite thought I’d find myself thinking about that much.
