JOAN COLLINS BLOCKED ME ON TWITTER
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
★★★
“Billy Walker has come up with a strong concept”
Joan Collins Blocked Me On Twitter is the brainchild of Billy Walker, who comes to us from Los Angeles, dripping in awards. In this 60 minute monologue, he gives us actor Theodore Emory Jones (stage name Thor Jones) who has landed quite close to the iconic Hollywood sign in LA, hoping to win a recurring role in his dream series, Dynasty.
Theodore, or Thor, has had a privileged upbringing under the care of his governess Helga von Winkle. He appears before us dressed in silk pyjamas and velvet slippers, naturally. He sets up an easy rapport with the audience, berating those who arrive late, and uttering a dismissive “suit yourself” every time we fail to respond enthusiastically—but not too enthusiastically, if you please—to the jokes. Thor is an engaging fellow, especially when explaining his obsession with tea. He is an Upper Crust Englishman on steroids, who has spent enough time in LA to be strangely familiar with Koreatown, and the BBC (Bonnie Baker Casting). Most of Thor’s time is spent talking with his agent on the phone, reminiscing with Helga (offstage), and treating us to a series of extravagant costume changes for a self audition videotape he is preparing. This tape depends on the role he is hoping to land, and he is often interrupted. So we get Alexis Carrington’s English butler in Dynasty, or a brightly coloured Elf for a Christmas commercial, to name just two. Thor’s one sided conversations with Judy (and the audience) are punctuated with short videos as Thor gives us the skinny on how these roles panned out.
Billy Walker has come up with a strong concept with Joan Collins Blocked Me On Twitter, but it’s short on details. We never learn, for instance, exactly why Joan Collins blocked Thor Jones on Twitter (and to refer to Twitter as X would be unfortunate in these circumstances). Vague hints are given regarding poorly chosen gifts left in Dame Joan’s trailer, and a funny video suggests that Alexis Carrington does not like her English butler. This show doesn’t really have much to do with Dynasty. It’s a comic take on the actor’s life, and a pretty accurate one, actually. No glitzy Awards shows, nor lunches in Beverly Hills celebrity spotting—just a man, at home with his phone, and his collection of teapots. Walker has created a sympathetic character nonetheless, and when the hapless Jones nabs a role—any role—we are there to cheer him on. With a bit more polish on the script, and some judicious cutting, Joan Collins Blocked Me On Twitter could be, who knows? Definitely not Fleabag, but maybe the great lady of the title might drop in one evening to see what became of Alexis’ butler once she fired him.
For anglophiles everywhere, and UK actors who are Los Angeles curious.
JOAN COLLINS BLOCKED ME ON TWITTER
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Reviewed on 9th August 2025 at Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street
by Dominica Plummer
Photography by Grant Terzakis
