Sometimes it feels like the world is on fire and we’d rather listen to a catchy song summarizing how we got there than actually putting the work in to solve the issues the world is facing. 

Meet Emerson Brophy, professional person from The Internet with hits such as Day Job and Kids Only Matter When They’re Not Born Yet. He’s written some of those songs, and now he’s put together a live show with brand-new songs and a clear narrative about the importance of weighing in on global debate and rather than falling for tantalizing paralysis and silence in the modern deluge of negative news.

If you’ve seen Emerson’s work on TikTok, you’ll know what to expect. It’s zillenial existential angst over a ukulele and a keyboard – with guest performances from a funky saxophone. He writes catchy 3 minute songs about issues like capitalism, abortion rights and global and Australian politics. His work has had a few million views online and he’s found success as a young white cis man in raising awareness about big political issues, while still remaining lightheartedly funny and catchy.

Emerson pulls back the curtain on his TikTok career and reveals a certain unease with the role he’s been assigned. “We fixed racism” he proclaims, with a heavy dose of sarcasm in front of an Instagram blackout picture, and that’s what the thesis of Saccharine seems to be. Trying to understand, in part, the use of these silly little songs and what impact they really have on the societal problems that we feel powerless in front of. It’s a profound exploration of that sense of helplessness that the modern news cycle is essentially designed to generate, too many problems and too unfocused to solve any of them.

Sacchrine is a clever, self-aware show that doesn’t pretend to have all the answers—but it does ask the right questions, wrapped in melodies sticky enough to lodge in your brain for days. Emerson Brophy’s knack for turning existential dread into something you can hum along to is undeniable, even if he’s openly skeptical of whether that’s enough. The show’s strength lies in its balance: it’s sharp without being cynical, earnest without being naive, and funny enough to make the weight of its themes feel manageable.

That said, you can see why he worries about preaching to the choir. The Fringe crowd isn’t exactly the audience that needs convincing, and there’s a meta-layer to the whole thing—a guy with a ukulele singing about capitalism to people who already agree with him, all while wondering aloud if it’s just another form of slacktivism. But if the echo chamber is inevitable, at least Brophy makes it a damn entertaining one. The rewritten You’ll Never Be a Billionaire lands even better live, and the finale’s loop-pedal crescendo—melding every song into a controlled chaos of doomscrolling—is a standout moment, smartly undercut by his insistence that logging off and showing up (in real life, not just online) might actually help.

Is Saccharine going to save the world? Probably not. But it’s a solid reminder that we don’t have to choose between paying attention and losing our minds, and that sometimes, a catchy tune is the best way to say, “Hey, maybe we should talk about this.”

Recommended Drink: This show is about getting out of bed and actually doing something, and the sweetness we need to make it manageable – so I would pair this with a classic black coffee with just a teaspoonful of sugar to start the day, get out of bed, and actually form an opinion on something important.

Performances of Saccharine have now concluded at the Adelaide Fringe.