Review: PUPPY, King’s Head Theatre
Photo credit: Steve Gregson
When Jaz visits a known dogging hotspot, she has no idea that her life is going to change. What starts out as a personal exploration of sexuality and sexual preferences eventually becomes a relationship and the founding of a feminist porn studio, which goes well until the law gets involved…
The show started as a ten-minute short script in 2017 and has been in development since. It made its debut at Vault Festival in 2018 and was originally supposed to make its West End debut in 2020, but this was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Relish Theatre Company did a call out for queer play scripts and writer, Naomi Westerman, decided to submit Puppy for this, which has resulted in its current run at the King’s Head Theatre.
The venue is perfect for this show as its secluded and intimate, adding to both the setting and atmosphere. This is further aided by the warm lighting and plush pillows, which create a sense of plushness and sensuality. The use of car seats on wheels is a very well considered design choice because it doesn’t look out of place in this setting and doesn’t underestimate the intelligence of the audience in understanding what one of the settings of the show is.
This show has a very strong cast, with particular standouts being Ashling O’Shea, who plays Jaz, and Amy Revelle, who plays Maya. They portray their roles without reserve. They fully commit. Their interactions look natural and its clear to see the chemistry these actors have, which is particularly important when depicting a lesbian relationship that feels lived in and realistic. They seem to counter each other in the best ways, with Revelle being expert at giving a plucky and emboldened performance even during more serious moments in the show, whilst O’Shea shows the intricacies of true emotional variation meaning that her character always feels full bodied even in more comedic moments.
Ed Larkin and Maria Austin make a great pairing in their supporting roles. They’re understated but brilliant. Their roles allow for more variation in the show, with each actor having a different comedic role. Larkin’s ability to reel off an extensive list of self-published murder mystery erotica without corpsing is impressive. More so is his ability to pull off the funniest moment in the show, which involves an MP and a dog... He is able to fluidly play a range of convincing characters. This, when coupled with Austin’s highly comedic performance of naïvety and innocence, becomes very entertaining to watch.
The writing of the show is, for the most part, consistent. It knows what it wants to say and very much believes in the message its trying to convey: the importance of feminist porn (defined as porn which stands for equality and inclusion for all), the validation of sex work as real work, the potential dangers of working in the porn industry, and watching porn (especially in regards to how much is the result of sex trafficking and how it depicts violence against women).
However, there are some jarring tonal shifts. It doesn’t seem to be sure how it wants to tell the story, meaning that its not fully committed to either comedy or pure drama or another form like dark comedy etc. It seems to be wanting to do both at the same time, which results in dense moments of comedy followed by intense drama with sporadic comedic lines scattered in its midst. We think that the show should fully commit to how it wants to tell this story to ensure that we, as an audience, aren’t confused about what we are supposed to take away from the show.
It's also worth noting that for a show about porn and dogging, its not particularly graphic or erotic in any sense. These elements are depicted to be more artistically normal and awkward.
Brave and interesting to watch. Will definitely satisfy your curiosities in an openly honest and safe space.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill
Puppy plays at London’s King’s Head Theatre until 27 April, with further info here.
