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Roleplay

Summerhall

Four stars

 

Sex sells in real life as much as showbiz in Hannah Reilly’s new solo play, which charts one woman’s deep dive into an industry where the costs of leaving yourself exposed on every level comes high. Some of the story is true, we are told by way of introduction, and some of it not, while the rest is seemingly none of our business.

 

Reilly starts as she means to go on as Danni, the sexually liberated feminist podcaster looking for a break. Her frankness and access all areas persona leads her down a dark alley of strip clubs, binging, and an eventual loss of self as she flogs her wares online as well as at the club. What was once an innate form of curiosity to turn herself on as much as her listeners has now become a lifestyle choice she never planned.

 

This is delivered by Reilly in Paige Rattray’s production with an unflinching sense of sass that double bluffs its audience as they become voyeurs into both her bump and grind routines she delivers with abandon, and the fallout that follows. As Reilly moves between microphones, her script is shown off as sharp enough to match the hype that has already surrounded the show, while Danni’s low level media gig is akin to a hardcore rewiring of Sex and the City for the social media age. 

 

In terms of pop psychological analysis, Danni’s story is nothing you couldn’t find laid bare in a million post-pub sex docs on TV a couple of decades back. The difference here comes in Danni’s seemingly contrary espousal of feminism even as she alienates all around her. With Francesca Moody Productions  behind the show, and a post Fringe run at Soho Theatre already in the bag, Reilly and co have scored a winner with a short, sharp shocker for our times.

 

Until Aug 31, 5.50pm

 

The Herald, August 9th 2026


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