Comedic Actress and Playwright Star Stone heads to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this Summer at Greenside Venues with Villain Era, directed by Ryan Cunningham, sharing her outrageous true story of going viral online and becoming an internet ‘villain’ to over 17 million people. Villain Era will receive its world premiere after preview performances at East to Edinburgh, New York
It’s 2019 and Star is cast in a reality competition show on YouTube where vegans need to figure out which of them is the secret non-vegan mole. The show goes viral with 17 million views. Great! Only problem is Star receives the ‘villain edit’ and her life changes overnight, facing a barrage of harassment, ranging from hateful messages to literal death threats. In Villain Era, Star reveals it all from battling bots, trolls, the online vegan mafia, and the real effects it had on her, in this one-woman multimedia comedy show.
Villain Era comments on public-shaming and cancel culture: “A social media comment section is the new witch hunt,” Star says. “Compounded by the anonymity, Cyber-bullying does not have any recourse, and therefore people can easily post threatening, hurtful messages, and in fact, are encouraged to do so creating a mob-mentality. Yet, those on the receiving end, have real psychological and emotional effects from it, equivalent to an in-person offence. It’s surprising that psychological harm created by social media is still not taken seriously, even when there’s so much evidence that it has long term mental health effects on its victims. I am proud to take what was my worst nightmare and recreate it into a comedy show exploring these issues.”
Star Stone: Villain Era will be performed at 5:10pm at Greenside Venues, George Street, from 2nd – 24th August 2024 (not 11th or 18th)
Star Stone (playwright, producer, performer) is an actress, producer, and playwright. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Theatre and a graduate of UCB LA’s Improv School. Star is the writer and creator of #MeToo, a one-woman show (Edinburgh Fringe, SOLOFEST, United Solo, Second City, Hollywood Fringe) and the creator of Villain Era. She is a former member of the Oakland Slam Poetry Team and has performed at NYTW, La Mama Galleria, NY Poetry Festival, and more. Since 2022, Star has worked as an advocate for survivor’s voices including partnerships with The NYC Mayor’s Office to ENDGBV, Beyond the Violence: Stop Domestic Violence, and RAINN Speaker’s Bureau. Star is a recent recipient of The V day grant award for her work with #MeToo, a one-woman show highlighting domestic violence awareness. The V-day foundation is V, formerly known as Eve Ensler’s, foundation.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival tickets available HERE