Jasnoor Sandhur and Din Dizon in HAGS, presented by York University Theatre

In playwright Aaron Jan’s HAGS, a live virtual theatre presentation by York University Theatre, social media itself is as much a character—and just as vulnerable to manipulation—as the Gen Z activists who form Hamiltonians Against Groups of Sadism. It is a clumsy moniker and feels appropriately uncomfortable as we discover the covert and problematic machinations of this self-proclaimed “consistent beacon of marginalized hope.”

Framed as a Zoom meeting between three members initiating a fourth into their group, the story unfolds in real time. It starts off as comedy, but quickly evolves into a dark thriller as it descends into the murky moral landscape of social justice and cancel culture. The most intriguing aspect of Jan’s story is how it pokes at the awful ambiguity of extreme activism. The spectre of followers and the pressure for constant engagement loom large as he unpacks his characters’ seeming altruism and, with mischievous glee, offers up the grotesque and abject humanity he finds in their dubious motivations. Continue Reading