Girlbosses & Billionaires (Edinburgh Fringe Preview) at Hyde Park Book Club
Photo by Dorothy Franklin
Up and down the country, thousands are preparing for their annual pilgrimage up to the Royal Mile to showcase their brand-new works of theatre to millions of arts fanatics from across the globe. This pilgrimage, however, likely means the most to the plethora of student writers, actors and producers that stand side-by-side with seasoned professionals at Fringe every summer, being able to showcase the next generation of dramatic talent.
Leeds in particular is home to a vibrant student theatre scene, with many groups taking their own brand new works up to Edinburgh in the next month. One of these works is Girlbosses & Billionaires, written by Katy Connolly, which spoofs the infamous all-female trip to space (featuring Katy Perry) on Jeff Bezos’ rocket. With four parodical characters of celebrity stereotypes, Girlbosses & Billionaires is a referential and refreshing light show that’ll perfectly fill in a free afternoon in your schedule.
The show opens with a booming, powerful voice that declares that the one thing that fourth-wave feminism has been in need of is space travel. Our four astronauts-for-a-day strike a powerful pose to an uproar of cheers from the crowd, before they are interviewed by the unrelenting paparazzi in a fun and fitting introduction.
There is Kylie, fitting into a Katy Perry mould with a sprinkle of Gwenyth Paltrow, who is played by Hattie Greaves with some scarily surreal physicality; a psuedo-spiritualist who preaches wall-decor feminist quotes whilst trying to align her chakras. Saffron comes from the world of TikTok and livestreams, speaking in a Gen-Z dialect that pulls most of the laughs during the show’s stage-time, with Faye Thomson taking this micro-influencer to the stars. Bringing classic Hollywood glamour, there is Edna, played by Grace Hale, who mocks the older celebrity stereotype of a slightly problematic but iconic and adored actress and is arguably the play’s straight man.
This all-female space journey takes an unexpected turn, however, when Blake, son of the journey’s sponsor, joins the girls onboard. Tathum Baker plays the masculine invader of this feminist ‘utopia’ with a brilliant sense of comedic timing, proving to be a hysterical outlier to the girl-power energy that fills the rest of the spaceship. Girlbosses & Billionaires follows these four characters as they head up into the stratosphere and back down again, the trials and tribulations they face along the way and most importantly, how each of these women (and one somewhat neurotic man) interact with each other and this privileged experience.
Whilst each character is distinct, dynamic and able to bounce off the others with ease, some jokes do feel slightly repetitive and the pacing becomes a struggle as the show reckons with its fifty minute run-time, but this is a common obstacle that many Fringe shows face when presented with a tight slot and turn-around time. In this time, the show itself doesn’t say anything revolutionary, but I don’t suppose it is trying to. And it makes for a welcome change.
Instead, Girlbosses & Billionaires is simply presenting us with the facts of a dystopian adventure that really took place in our lifetimes. It isn’t trying to make us question it or revolt against any injustice it may have caused, but what it does do is provide us with a safe space to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the reality we live in.
In a time where many of us feel like we have to fight with all our power against the exact billionaires we see in this show, this play offers its audience the opportunity to sit in their disdain but also their amusement. Giving us caricatures of the personas that only exist through our screens, we can indulge in our mocking laughter. We are the peanut gallery after all, so why not enjoy it?
If you are looking for light laughter and a chance to be slightly sardonic, it’s worth joining them on their extraterrestrial journey.
Girlbosses & Billionaires will be showing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from the 19th to the 29th August every day from 4.45pm at Surgeon’s Hall.
★★★★
Reviewed by Jessica, August 2026.
