Centre of the Universe is a laugh-out-loud search for meaning in a success-obsessed society. Writer and performer Gaia Mondadori presents a witty interrogation of the human need for control in an age defined by TikTok and a self-help pandemic. Told through the perspective of Mary, the show examines the ways in which we may hide from pain and seek to be defined by the glory of material success.

A seemingly normal teenager with no discernible talents, Mary believes she is destined for greatness and refuses to be defined by the death of her mother. When iconic TikTok influencer Gabriella Dios visits her school, a burning need for success is ignited within Mary – she will be a star. Led by signs she believes she is receiving from the Universe, Mary forges her own path to greatness. From hosting her own funeral to dropping out of school, cleaning bins, and making love to her anger, there is nothing Mary isn’t ready to do to prove herself. But at what cost?

Brought to the stage by Trish Wadley Productions for Drama Queens Universe Ltd, this coming-of-age story holds up a mirror to our need to constantly perform in order to achieve a sense of purpose, happiness, and gratitude in an increasingly digitalised and social-media-obsessed world.

Gaia Mondadori comments, “It feels as though we are increasingly being encouraged to become more focused on our individual goals and needs and turn inwards. This show is a story about a woman who takes this to the extreme and who burns to become somebody, to be seen as more than her pain, more than who she is. But at what cost? It’s also an invitation, a warning, to look outwards.”