Inspired by a notorious con artist’s high life in New York, this two-hander by UK playwright Joseph Charlton is a tale of deceit, narcissism and personal branding enabled by social media.

Premiering in London in 2019, and now making its Australian debut at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Anna X will ring bells for those who have seen Inventing Anna.

That 2022 mini-series dramatised the escapades of Anna Sorokin, who posed as an heiress in New York around a decade ago. She curated an image of wealth and fame on Instagram while repeatedly committing fraud and taking advantage of friends to fund her lavish lifestyle.

Becca Galvin and Tom Stokes in Anna X. Photo © Simon Fazio

Like Sorokin, Charlton’s Anna X seeks investors for an exclusive club centred around contemporary art. However, his version is from Ukraine and begins a situationship with Ariel, who also recently moved to New York, flush with millions invested in his VIP dating app start-up.

Their lives in a tech-driven, image-conscious, fashionable milieu have clear parallels, but while Ariel is nervous in his romantic and business endeavours, Anna is audacious, calculating and detached.

Director Tait de Lorenzo keeps this...