APEX is a one person show that explores how many of today’s young men are unknowingly seduced into a digital following. Incorporating livestreams, voiceovers and an anonymous WhatsApp group with its audience- APEX aims to reopen a conversation on masculinity that is often swept under the rug.
Andre is a self-proclaimed men's rights podcaster, broadcasting from his gaudy home studio. Surrounded by lion posters, red lights and an over-inflated ego- he preaches discipline, dominance and hustle culture to a loyal online following who are desperate for meaning. Behind the sunglasses and sound effects, though, is a deeply insecure young man clinging to control.
Over the course of a single livestream, Andre takes calls from a series of male fans. There is Pucker, a fitness guru with military bravado and absurd morning rituals, and Gary, a bitter older man whose rage boils over into disturbing misogyny. Each voice feeds the echo chamber Andre has built. Absurd and satirical on the surface, something undeniable forms as the cracks begin to show. Then comes the final caller: Topman 2016. What begins as another misogyny-fueled rant about women, slowly reveals itself to be something far more serious.
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