When leaving the theatre after viewing Dot com/love, the overwhelming feeling running through my head was gratitude for opportunities like the Fringe to showcase work. Written by Mim, Dot com/love is a drama about a woman struggling with life and looking for love in the wrong places – an intensely relatable scenario for many people, and a reminder that theatre is not just for the audience. The fact that someone with little to no experience in the theatre was able to create and stage such a personal and affecting show is an inspiring testament to Melbourne’s theatre scene.

Revolving largely around the protagonist’s experiencing with internet dating and the boiler-room team of scammers who are trying to rip her off, Dot com/love is a raw and honest portrayal of the situation many people can find themselves experiencing. Moments of light comedy help break up the heavy drama and it was good to see in-depth exploration of the scammer’s psyche as well.

There were some creative and well-executed staging decisions, particularly when introducing a selection of profiles on the dating website, though at times the excessive props on stage bordered on distracting. There was nice use of costume, often reflecting the mood of the protagonist in what she was wearing. The lighting was effective, helping to set the somewhat gloomy mood of the play, but the production could have benefited from different placing of the microphones, to better pick up the dialogue.

Dot com/love is a rare show – lacking in pretension and embracing its unembellished take on life. It would have been nice to see the pace tightened up a bit, but after seeing a lot of quick, fast, sketch comedy shows, this reviewer found the change of speed refreshing and reflective.

Dot com/love has finished its run at the Fringe Festival.