Roleplay theatre review: Asking big questions
The much-anticipated one-woman show fails to match its expansive ambition
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A lot of hype is swirling around Roleplay, this year’s tentpole show from Fleabag and Baby Reindeer’s Francesca Moody Productions and Global Creatures. Much like those breakout hits, Hannah Reilly’s comedy-drama embraces the allure of the almost-true story, boldly declaring at both its beginning and end that its verisimilitude is ‘none of your fucking business’. It follows Dani, a sex podcaster whose catchphrase ‘hey slut’ captures the attention of a Murdoch-like entertainment empire hoping to corner the market in sex positive content. Dani, viewed as ‘vanilla’ by her best friend, soon finds herself pushed into the extreme (but increasingly normalised) hinterlands of kink, OnlyFans models and a party girl lifestyle.
In a post-MeToo era, where the commercialisation of sexuality in an attention economy has muddied discussions of consent and empowerment, the strengths of Roleplay lie with its unflinching willingness to ask big questions about the state of sex, the rise of misogyny and the willingness for influencers to favour brand management over accountability. Reilly herself proves to be an astonishing vehicle for her conflicted character, moving between the various stations of her improbably rapid rise with the careerist’s ability to ignore the ethical complications of her actions.
Her performance ably papers over the many cracks in the script, which flies through Dani’s story without ever lingering. The overly fragmentary, episodic structure reduces its peripheral characters to paper-thin stereotypes. Gargantuan leaps in logic abound throughout (for starters, why would an exec at a global media conglomerate bother speaking to a podcaster with fewer than 300 listeners? Wouldn’t they simply ask their assistant to do it?), while its conclusion proves too predictable to garner dramatic surprise. A thousand-and-one ideas are jostling for space in Roleplay and, while that may prove what a minefield contemporary feminism is treading, it leads to a piecemeal narrative. That Reilly holds it together, and provides moments of pathos in doing so, is proof of her talent.
Roleplay, Summerhall, until 31 August, 5.50pm; picture: Mihaela Bodlovic.