Jake Mace
With a title like The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin, you can’t help but be intrigued by Tommaso Giacomin and his international ensemble company TG Works’ upcoming Voila! Theatre Festival show.
Following a homonym of the titular character on a struggle against a pervasive sense of Nausea towards himself and the desensitized digital society he is part of, the piece confronts AI, violence, war, personal guilt and more. We caught up with Tommaso for a pixelated pint to unpack the show’s weighty themes and find out what inspired the title.
You can catch The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin as part of Voila! Theatre Festival in London at The Cockpit on November 6th at 9pm and November 8th at 7pm (60mins). Tickets (£15) are available through the Voila! Theatre Festival Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Tommaso! Your upcoming Voila! Festival show has quite the title – tell us a bit about where it comes from and the unusual journey the main character embarks upon.
Tommaso: I know, right? We honestly didn’t expect it to be so controversial… There’s even a Reddit thread where people are already roasting the show; and they haven’t even seen it yet. Wild!
But in all seriousness, The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin is a title that came together gradually. The piece explores existential dread, the loss of hope so many of us are feeling right now, and how we’ve become so desensitised to violence – physically, politically, digitally.
The main character, who originally didn’t have a name, is someone spiralling through this overwhelming sense of nausea. In trying to understand it, he starts engaging with an AI bot – asking questions, searching for meaning, trying to feel something. During that process, while interacting with the AI in character, the name “Alec” just appeared and suddenly, it cracked something open.
Since the show is all about fractured identity and warped perception, we decided to lean into that name – to explore what happens when a character shares their identity with someone far more known, more complicated, more loaded. Of course, we’re very aware of the real Alec Baldwin and the terrible tragedy that happened on the set of Rust. We’re not referencing that incident; but we are asking questions that arise from it: How do we process guilt? What does accountability mean in a world that’s constantly watching? How do we consume and respond to violence when everything feels like content?
This show isn’t about the real Alec Baldwin – but the name, and all the associations it carries, became a powerful entry point into this exploration of responsibility, identity, and the limits of empathy in an overstimulated world.
Jake: The piece aims to see Alec confront personal guilt and societal indifference – why did you decide to focus on these themes now, and what do you think the show has to say about the world in 2025?
Tommaso: The show really doesn’t shy away from what’s happening in the world right now.
We’ve done a lot of research – and a lot of emotional unpacking – around incredibly difficult topics: ongoing conflicts, war, the cost of living crisis, political polarisation… the list goes on. It’s overwhelming. And for our generation, those of us who are now adults or just becoming adults, it often feels like we’re inheriting a world that’s on fire, while being told to just keep going. There’s this unbearable sense of immobility.
We wanted to ask: how is this constant exposure to crisis shaping us? What is it doing to our ability to empathise, to act, to hope? And what happens when that helplessness turns inward and becomes guilt?
We didn’t set out to deliver a clean message or a single takeaway. The show isn’t about offering solutions; it’s more about holding up a mirror and asking: how does it actually feel to live right now? Or maybe even: how are we supposed to live at all in times like these?
So, if anything, the show is an attempt to give form to that tension – to that paralysis – and maybe, through absurdity and honesty, to give the audience permission to feel it too.
Jake: What will be the first thing the audience sees, feels, and hears as they enter the space?
Tommaso: An aquarium!
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Tommaso: I’m not hoping for one specific takeaway – but if the show makes someone feel seen, or less numb, or even just uncomfortable in a meaningful way, then it has done its job!
Jake: With Voila Festival 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Tommaso: Sharing the work with a real, live audience, finally! And being part of such a bold, international lineup of artists who aren’t afraid to take risks. Voila always brings unexpected conversations, and I’m here for that.
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Tommaso: Two Punk IPAs, a pint of Stella, and a large glass of Malbec.
Why? Come see the show and you will find out!
A reminder, you can catch The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin as part of Voila! Theatre Festival in London at The Cockpit on November 6th at 9pm and November 8th at 7pm (60mins). Tickets (£15) are available through the Voila! Theatre Festival Online Box Office.
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