The Pervasive Real: Virtual Co-Presence in Jordan Tannahill’s YouTube Play rihannaboi95

Abstract Taking Jordan Tannahill’s play rihannaboi95 as case study, this article examines the ways in which digital theatre forms cultivate a unique spectator experience of perceived realness. Specifically, this article examines how the conventions of the YouTube video carry over and impact the audience experience of rihannaboi95, a theatrical monologue told in the style of a YouTube confessional. rihannaboi95 concerns a young person named Sunny (username rihannaboi95), who uploads videos of himself lipsyncing and dancing to Rihanna songs online. When his videos go viral in his high school community, he is subject to intense bullying from his peers and homophobia from his own family. From the form’s portability – able to be viewed on a personal laptop or phone in one’s private home – to the use of a live chat room in which audience members may talk to each other and the performer throughout the show, this article argues that the frameworks for viewing this piece encourage a unique form of empathetic participation from its audience. Using ideas of intimacy, affect, and realness, as well as audience responses, this piece investigates how the show’s virtual co-presence works to pervade the real-world, and thus uniquely crafts an experience that both feels real to its audiences and in turn encourages real contributions from those audiences.