 Sluts With Consoles drops us into a vividly imagined gaming universe, where two passionate gamers—Player 1 and Player 2—find themselves working side by side. Dressed both in Lucy & Yak dungarees yet different coloured, they’re visually tethered but worlds apart in temperament. Player 1, in a bright one piece, is eager to connect and asking questions, cracking smiles, and clearly hoping for friendship. Player 2, in stark black clothing, is sharper, more guarded, her words clipped and her tolerance limited.
Over six different “levels,” projected behind them in the form of classic and modern video game worlds, the pair deliver passionate, furious, vulnerable, and deeply insightful monologues about their gaming histories. Each level functions like a side quest and not just through the landscape of gaming itself, but through the cultural and personal moments that shaped their identities. Player 1’s journey begins in the traditionally “girly” corners of gaming with makeup simulators, dance competitions, and glittery avatars. Her joy comes from the social side of games, playing with the boys and performing for others. Player 2’s origin story is forged in The Legend of Zelda and other darker, more complex worlds, often solitary and demanding, where the stakes feel higher and the tone less forgiving. The show captures a key cultural shift: a time when gaming moved from being a private, living-room experience into a global, connected arena. With the rise of online play came an uglier reality with anonymous strangers spewing racist, sexist, and homophobic abuse through their headsets. Not every game is about war, but many gaming spaces became battlegrounds nonetheless, especially for women, LGBTQI+ people, and other marginalised groups. The psychological impact on the characters is clear. These virtual worlds have shaped their self-image, their trust in others, and their perception of safety. As women in a sphere that repeatedly signals they don’t belong, both wrestle with the need to survive in hostile territory albeit in very different ways. Player 1 sees no inherent problem with male players and works hard to win their favour consciously or not playing into the trope of the “pick me” girl: someone who downplays solidarity with other women and aligns herself with male approval with caked in internalised misogny. Her eventual transformation into a Twitch streamer, decked out in kawaii-inspired, hyper-feminine outfits, reflects a calculated performance of femininity to appeal to male audiences. Player 2, by contrast, has been hardened by the events of Gamergate - a 2014 online harassment campaign targeting women in gaming, framed under the guise of “ethics in games journalism” but fuelled by misogyny, doxxing, and abuse. Gamergate didn’t just mark a turning point in gaming culture; it became a blueprint for coordinated online harassment campaigns. Having survived this climate, Player 2 feels the double-bind of being both part of the community and yet always at risk from it, her identity as a gamer tangled with a persistent awareness of its sexism. The dynamic between the two becomes a commentary on complicity, survival, and the negotiation of identity in a hostile culture. Player 1’s adaptive charm and Player 2’s defensive armour are both survival tactics but they also come with costs, sometimes widening the gap between solidarity and self-preservation. What’s striking is how the show manages to be both deeply specific and universally resonant. The staging is minimal but with the glow of projected game worlds and draws you into a space where the stakes feel real. The performances are raw yet controlled, carrying the weight of lived experience rather than just scripted beats. As someone who doesn’t game, I expected to feel like an outsider in this world. Instead, Sluts With Consoles worked brilliantly for me because it isn’t really about gaming. It’s about identity, belonging, and the compromises we make to survive in cultures that weren’t built for us. The gaming references may be the setting, but the emotional stakes are recognisably painfully human, and that’s where the play’s power lies. Lee Hutchison 4.5/5 Sluts With Consoles Venue: Delhi Belly at Underbelly, Cowgate Dates: August 9th and 10th Time: 2325 Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/sluts-with-consoles |
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