Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
Hannah Reilly’s solo show arrives in London from the Fringe with an undeniable, electric buzz. At its core, it beats a brilliantly sharp, contemporary premise: a Faustian pact for today’s world where “attention is the new oil”. Aspiring podcaster Danni is offered an extraordinarily lucrative contract, but with a self-destructive catch.
Reilly’s script smartly probes our modern obsession with engagement; where personal worth is inextricably tied to profile, and close relationships are effortlessly jettisoned in the process. Even a mother’s outrage becomes nothing more than content to be remixed, recorded, and reshared à la Charli XCX hyperpop. The production brilliantly problematises the branding of female sexual empowerment, asking whether liberation is truly to be found in the bedroom, or if it merely mirrors the gender-power dynamics beyond it.
As a performer, Reilly is dynamic and truly alive. She juggles multiple live-wire voices deftly. Grounded by Paige Rattray’s direction, Lucy Baker-Swinburn’s crisp sound design, and Prema Mehta’s lighting design, the narrative canters on. At times, this canter accelerates to a gallop, and its freneticism dulls parts of the play’s knife-edge. Through Reilly’s performance and writing, this bluntness is gladly short-lived, and we are returned to the whetstone speedily.
While the story enters the darker terrain of a psychological thriller perhaps a little too late, Danni’s bleak, chilling finale hits home with force. Reilly ultimately holds back from pushing the envelope into truly dangerous territory until the final beats, but the journey is nonetheless a confident, biting triumph.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jeff Mostyn
Roleplay runs at London’s Soho Theatre until 21 Nov, with further info here.
