Ben Powell
if not this then that is unlike anything else I’ve experienced.
A play without performers beyond its own audience.
Created by experimental theatre-maker Harry Walker, if not this then that explores the very ideas of agency, control, of who we are and how we got here.
The audience settles down to silence as the lights fade and then? We wait. Eventually, a projector screen lights up with text asking if we’re ready to begin. The Projection, as I’ve mentally deemed it, is our sole provider of instruction and external information for the duration. It guides us through collective cartography, impromptu audience performances and I even had the personal honour of being the evening’s time-keeper – ‘An audience member sets a timer for five minutes.’
if not this then that is one of those delightful pieces that could only first find form in Fringe. It depends on the initial risk of the audience to find life and, when given the chance, thrives in their engagement. The title references ‘If This Then That’, one of the simplest formulas for automating anything, particularly within computing and as the performance progresses, we find ourselves readily following instructions and line prompts as given by The Projection.
Prompting contemplation of our colonial history, artificial intelligence and free will, this show is one of those rare sort that feel incredibly tricky to review lest, in doing so, the experience is completely spoiled so what I’ll say is this; if not this then that breaks convention, challenges form and questions human habit through its content and even how it presents it. It is a fantastic and singular experience that relies on human nature to really hammer its points home and I would encourage you to catch it if and where you can!
Recommended Drink: 01010111 01100001 01110100 01100101 01110010
Performances of if not this then that have now concluded at Colchester Fringe 2026.
