Coventry Belgrade Theatre 5-7 October | Newcastle Northern Stage 10-12 October
London Southwark Playhouse Borough 1-25 November

By Deepika Arwind

Four people come together in a house in a forest for a political debate which will feature two of them as adversaries.

Mehrosh is a celebrated activist, made terrified from constant death threats. This debate is a chance to make her voice heard. Bina is her opponent – a smart, sophisticated politician from the ruling party who appears zealous in her beliefs. Jai is the journalist and appears to be a friend to both. Scherezade is Bina’s PA but is not quite who she seems. Is anyone?

Jai has promised a safe and private meeting place but trolls spread the location via social media and people are arriving uninvited. Mehrosh fears she could be assassinated.

Fearful of the coming conflict, surrounded by eerie shadows and mysterious noises, and increasingly uncertain of what she is told, Mehrosh starts to struggle with a growing paranoia that the people around her are not what they seem.

Phantasmagoria pits the terror of speaking out against the fear of staying quiet in order to warn us about the dangers of extreme populism, unbridled social media and how fear can be manufactured and manipulated with chilling consequences…