The controversial trend of looksmaxxing is explored in The Halo Effect, a new play premiering at The Bread and Roses Theatre, as part of The Lambeth Fringe 2026 festival.
Written by Irish playwright Dave Edward Keenan, the play explores the extreme lengths young men undertake to maximise their looks (or ‘looksmaxx’) and how it filters into extreme views about women and wider society.
The Halo Effect previously won Carlow Little Theatre’s One Act Playwriting Competition, whose president Jamie Dockery said: “The Halo Effect is exactly the kind of bold, socially engaged writing this competition was created to champion, brave, relevant, and beautifully crafted.”
Loosely based on the famous looksmaxxer Clavicular, Carter Davis is a hugely successful Miami influencer who proposes that our looks govern our lives and dictate the success of relationships, friendships and careers. This story runs in parallel with Dee Murphy, a Dublin single mother whose 14-year-old son idolises him. As Dee uncovers the extreme methods used to create the Halo Effect, she is disturbed by Carter’s attitudes towards women, recognising the same manipulative and misogynistic language her abusive ex-husband once used.
Written by Dave Edward Keenan | Directed by Harper Kathleen Hefferon | Starring Zak Rosen and Julie Coleman.
The show runs on the 21st and 22nd of October at 6:00pm.
Tickets here: https://lambethfringe.com/events/the-halo-effect
Tickets: £15 | Concessions: £12 | Running time: 60 minutes
