A small-town-girl with big dreams joins forces with a budding journalist looking for his big break in this coming-of-age, nostalgia-drenched play set in the desert town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

It’s 1950s America and the thrill of television is all-consuming, "and that's where the fun comes in!". Willing contestants face public humiliation, actual slime, and endless live-to-air TV pranks that put a town on the map forever.

But off camera the townspeople search for the truth, a boy is missing, and a mother is going slowly mad. The young pageant girl practices her special skills while potential contestants spout confessional stories to win their 15 minutes of fame. Who will speak the truth or pay the consequences?

This darkly humorous play by Louris van de Geer speaks to our troubled relationships with fame, our fragile notions of identity and our struggle to be someone. Focussing on a small town in the USA that changed its name from Hot Springs to Truth or Consequences after a TV show competition, we zoom in on a community - full of dreams, aspirations and hopes that may not be fulfilled.

Written by Louris Van De Geer
Directed by Tessa Leong
Performed by students of the UNSW course ARTS2122: Performance Production

Performance dates and times:

26 Feb 7.30pm
27 Feb 7.30pm
28 Feb 7.30pm
1 March 7.30pm
2 March 2pm