Led by Geelong and Melbourne based actor, singer, writer and musician Connor Morel in the hybrid role of Co-Producer/Writer/Protagonist, 'A Lovely Day To Be Online' is a one-person-pop-musical-turned-existential-crisis about a young adult realising the effect that social media is having on him.
In some good news for fans of longtime Geelong’s nostalgic pop rock band The Run, lead vocalist Connor Morel and bandmate William Conway have been busy working on an epic new project that blends music and theatre in the best possible way.
Debuting at Melbourne Fringe this month, singer-songwriter and self-obsessed internet addict Connor fronts a live band in this original gig-theatre show that asks: are we doing the internet right? Is the first video of a cat playing the piano as good as the 80th? Is the convenience of being able to talk to anyone worth the inconvenience of everyone being able to talk? And would life just be easier without it all?
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
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From the fake Instagram influencers to the radical keyboard warriors; the scamming crypto hackers to the obsessive YouTube addicts: we’re all in the sauce. But is it all going too far? And what would it take for us to realise it is?
Full of original soul-pop tunes, stories, memes and a whole lot of heart, this show delves into the humanity of how we use the internet, and how it preys on us when we’re at our worst.
A Geelong Arts Centre Creative Engine Grant Recipient, Connor (who recently appeared in the Australian and New Zealand tour of The Wedding Singer) wrote the 50-minute show as a reflection on his own obsession with his smartphone and what it was doing to him.
Addressing how social media affects his relationships, his local community, and his broader understanding of how the world functions, the show was initially inspired by Connor’s own frustrating habit for his smartphone pre-pandemic, and escalating mid-pandemic with an increase in screen time prompting the rise in conversations surrounding politics and social media in popular culture (think the documentary The Social Dilemma and podcast Your Undivided Attention).
A Lovely Day To Be Online also features musical director and arranger William Conway (who plays for rising Melbourne acts Seb Szabo, Maz Green and Hassall), and director and co-dramaturg Casey Gould (director of Voyagers, and cofounder of Music Theatre Workshop) who both joined the project in 2021, as well as associate director and codramaturg Sarah Frencham (director of Title of Show) and vocalist and bass player Kat Adés (performer with Vance Joy and The Woohoo Revue) rounded-out the creative team in April 2022.
Currently showing inside Melbourne Fringe’s Fringe Hub at Trades Hall, A Lovely Day To Be Online is a hilarious look into internet culture, and a glaring critique into who we become when we leave the real world. With Connor already being referred to as ‘an Australian answer to Bo Burnham’, the shows lyrics described as witty, gritty and hilarious and William hailed a force of nature, this might just be one of the best theatre shows of the 21st century.
There’s still time left to see it. A Lovely Day To Be Online will be running until October 23 at Common Rooms – Fringe Hub venue at Trades Hall. You can purchase tickets and find out more here.
