MODERATION in London
Always be moderating. Always be battling brainsick.
We premiered a play about social media content moderators losing their minds at work, first in Saint Paul and then in the UK. It’s called MODERATION. People seem to have enjoyed it. It’s been a long, weird trip for this play, from drafting it at an Indian restaurant in upstate Manhattan (the Heights) in 2019 to numerous Zoom readings, an audio adaptation (on Spotify) to a Minnesota premiere in 2024 and finally London in 2025.
Here’s a bit about how it all went up.
I’ve known Lydia Parker of Over Here Theatre Company for many years. Through Lydia and her outfit, I first met Abbie Lucas, now co-host of the Art of Darkness Podcast. Lydia and company hosted a short play festival “ObamAmerica” at Theatre503. I wrote a play, Abbie directed one, and my play DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP happened to be premiering at the same time at the Finborough (to tepid reviews).
Flash forward a decade, and I’m sitting on MODERATION - having developed it at numerous theatres through readings (many on Zoom) and at the Valdez Theatre Conference in Alaska. Our own Bad Mouth Theatre Company premiered it here in Saint Paul at the Hive in 2024 to absolutely zero critical response, which fine it’s Minnesota and we do theatre for the sake of theatre (really). The production featured the extraordinary Amanda Forstrom and singular Matthew Saxe, originating the roles of SHE and HE respectively.
Despite the lack of press from that outing, the fine Broadway Play Publishing took a shot on the script and published it. And I got in touch with Lydia about a production. She found a venue (the Hope Theatre), and MODERATION ran from March 19th - April 5th in Islington, London. Abbie did some extraordinary video editing, used in both productions. Theatre is always collaborative - one reason it’s such a challenge to pull off without terrorizing your friends and family with cringe and boredom.
Here’s copy from the Hope’s website:
“If you get a school shooting or a beheading, you know what to do. Remove. Suspend. Report.”
He and She are social media content moderators. All day, every day, they descend into the darkest digital rabbit holes, forced to view and rate disturbing images of hatred, violence, pornography and abuse, while being exposed to countless outrageous conspiracy theories.
But if the company they work for claims to “Connect the World”, why is the platform rapidly becoming a tool for global discord? How do you handle seeing the worst material humans can devise day in, day out? And can they survive long enough to enjoy real sushi and coffee from the Company Store?
Severance meets Black Mirror meets Harold Pinter in a darkly funny new American play. Moderation is a comedic doom scroll thriller about the effect social media has on our fractured society, the future of the people there to protect us from the worst, and the power of human connection in our fragile digital world.
And here are notices and select reviews (the ones who really got it):
Assessors’ Choice
– The Offies
Nominations: New Writing (Play), Direction, Production, Lead Performance (Play)
– Fringe Theatre Awards
“Moderation is a wake-up call, illustrating the personal and political consequences of an unmoderated, addictive digital landscape. Its timing is impeccable, especially as social media gurus have recently abandoned content moderation… It holds a mirror up to us all, challenges us, and never once lets us off the hook.”
– Everything Theatre ★★★★★
“The action takes place in a pre-Orwellian corporate world, where social media content moderators trawl through conspiracy theories, anti-semitic rants, and snuff films … Like a Beckettian pair, they trudge through their dismal lot while still finding room for mundane conversation and the odd dad joke during their strictly-timed break periods. It’s a very current work in the age of disinformation and AI … Kautzman’s interest in the psyche within this world make[s] for … a thrilling piece of palm-sweat-inducing theatre.”
– A Young(ish) Perspective ★★★★
“Kautzman’s searingly topical new play, MODERATION is the darkest of dark comedies. It is unmistakably an American work, but its themes resonate across the world, just as the actions of the techbro oligarchs of Silicon Valley do … This is a tightly written gem of a play. Intelligent and engrossing on social media, it is equally astute on the politics of office life and what works when climbing the company ladder. Kautzman knows about the importance of human relationships, and conversely, the dire consequences of their absence … at once horrific, tragic and darkly comedic.”
– The Peg ★★★★
“A perceptive look at the gig economy, the play is relatable to many… An engaging and lively piece of theatre: who knew a windowless basement office could be so fascinating?”
– LondonTheatre1 ★★★★
Cast and Creatives, MODERATION at the Hope Theatre London 2025 with Over Here Theatre Company
HE
ROBBIE CURRAN
SHE
ALICE VICTORIA WINSLOW
writer
KEVIN KAUTZMAN
director
LYDIA PARKER
producer
SUZETTE COON
video designer
ABBIE LUCAS
sound designer
RYAN CONDON
composer
SHAWN PHILLIPS
lighting designer
JACK HATHAWAY
stage manager
NATHAN FRIEND
Awesome work, one and all. This includes the unnamed people who fed back to the play over the years, and helped with its development.
What’s next for MODERATION?
We want to take this two-hander to New York and elsewhere.
Right now, Bad Mouth is on a little sabbatical, and I’m focused on Art of Darkness (researching Picasso and his many notable issues).
If anybody out there is looking to produce or collaborate on a tidy, topical, challenging, funny, and dark new play that calls for two actors, a projector, and not much else, we’re not hard to find: badmouthtc@gmail.com.
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