Comedy about miscommunication between generations

Gen X has left the chat

Annelies Verbeke

In a WhatsApp group, parents are attempting to make arrangements for the upcoming school party when one of them mentions that his son is being bullied by the others and his phone has been tossed out of a window. A heated discussion ensues. The conversation is already quite awkward when to top it all one of the parents accidentally shares a lewd photo that was clearly intended for a different conversation… To set things straight, the parents are invited by a teacher to meet and talk. Live, that is, because online communication clearly always results in a mess.

The play is largely satire, with delightfully boldly drawn characters, like the inept dick-pick-sending father who likes to laugh off sensitivities, or the lesbian power couple with an adopted son whose fierce ambition seems to take precedence over the problems of the young. ★★★★

De Volkskrant

In what follows the parents talk with their teenagers about behaviour online and off. The teacher who leads the discussion wants them all to adhere to the rules of ‘non-violent communication’, but he soon encounters resistance. Despite their good intentions, nobody can prevent the discussion from escalating and before long they are all at each other’s throats. Should parents soothe their worries about their children’s online personalities by trusting them? And how can generation X reproach generation Z when it turns out they’re at least as badly addicted to their screens?

‘Gen X Has Left the Chat’ is a tightly composed comedy in which different generations try to engage in a conversation with each other, but every attempt ends in chaos.

Trigger warning: This script includes descriptions of online abuse and sexual violence that some people may find disturbing.