Issy Cory
Danni’s been producing podcasts for men for the past few years, covering the usual topics of golf, bitcoin and the like. On the side, she grabs hold of her own mic in her Agony Aunt style podcast, discussing sex stories with her fellow ‘sluts’. However, as the title boldly suggests, this is all a ruse, and her podcast persona is just that, a costume that Danni wears for the purpose of spectacle.
When the head honchos come ringing with an offer of monetising this side-hustle, Danni grasps the opportunity with both hands. As the men in this microcosm of podcast productivity swarm Danni with pressure, and the lines between reality and character blur beyond recognition, Danni begins a spiral down a very dark hole (not that kind of hole…).
As Hannah Reilly bounds onto the stage, dancing provocatively and getting topless, we can see there is a concerted effort to get the energy pumping for Tech Cube 0. Whilst the same dance appears again later in the play, rendering questions over its placement as an opener (clickbait…?), it is a testament to Reilly’s physical ability, and commitment to the bit.
Reilly bounces between microphone to microphone, cleverly taking on the different characters featured in this story. Evidently, Reilly is a seasoned player when it comes to inhabiting various personas, and her sense of changing identities has a clarity that is necessary in a show as stripped back as Roleplay.
Yet, the proclaimed ‘female-first approach’ of Roleplay falls short when taking into account the play’s most powerful characters: the men. Of course, it’s a solo show and the protagonist is a woman, but we’re gonna need a little more than that to state that the approach is ‘female-first’.
The big twist with Danni’s boyfriend is furthermore predictable, and the affirmation that this production progresses into the psychological thriller-sphere as part of this plot line is a stretch. With the manner in which the men are portrayed from the outset, as brash, unfeeling figures, it is unsurprising that Danni’s boyfriend is revealed as predatory.
Most concerning by far is the way that Reilly conflates embracing her sexual side with some hugely questionable behaviours. By aligning sex work, stripping, kinkiness, and BDSM with falling out with your family and friends, becoming addicted to drugs and partying, and generally being a bad person, doesn’t quite have the subversive feminist ring to it that you think it does.
I hate to say it, but take Fleabag. She is a hyper sexualised character, with an openly admitted addiction to sex and addiction, however we are shown the threads back to where these behaviours began. Perhaps it is the lack of capitalist, patriarchal influence that makes Fleabag work so much better as a central character, and what makes Danni so two-dimensional.
Overall, Reilly is an enthralling performer, and the most successful parts of the show are when we are allowed to indulge in the more sincere points of her journey. As many others have been questioning about Roleplay, are the glass ceilings really being broken, or just magnifying the pouting, posing, pretenders underneath?
Recommended Drink: Lukewarm whiskey.
You can catch Roleplay at Summerhall from August 23-31 at 17:50 (70mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Isobel Jacob
Esme Davis
Hannah Hamilton
