All the evidence in the world

A classroom play by Lucie Vérot, translated from French by Wolfgang Barth

Two children in a class come down with a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus. Because they’re in isolation, they have plenty of time to do some research. They find all sorts of things online, including information about a prehistoric virus that survived in the permafrost and was uncovered due to climate change. Could it be that they were infected on purpose? Aren’t there pharmaceutical companies located in the neighboring town? Surely they would profit from this! And what a coincidence that they fell ill right after biology class, when they were supposed to take Petri dishes out of the lab cabinet.
At the very latest, after the two of them catch their unpopular teacher cutting snow into cake pans at night, it becomes clear to them that something is wrong!
Their increasingly intense search for supposed evidence ultimately leads them to suspect the helpless teacher of participating in an international virus research project. The conspiracy myth spreads to the entire class and across the internet, taking on increasingly absurd forms.
In her play, French author Lucie Vérot vividly illustrates how incredibly quickly and easily conspiracy theories arise from a combination of mistrust and fake news. She shows how unfounded paranoia takes on a life of its own and spreads virally, and how important it is not to pass on claims without questioning them.