Miss I-Doll, The Other Palace Review
Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Everyone wants to be a I- Doll right? In this one woman show, we are entered into the bright pink reality TV show Miss I Doll, where the fun is put into feminism and all contestants need to be both beautiful and intelligent. If you were born in the last 35 years, you would have witnessed the rise in reality shows, whether via Simon Cowell’s empire of talent shows, Big Brother’s scandals or Love Island’s opulent villa. This show encapsulates all of those teenage days glued to the TV and all the fake glamour of these shows, yet a darker undertone presents to change the expectations very quickly.
The set and costuming (Ellie Wintour) are brilliant and perfectly evokes all my noughties nostalgia while still managing to keep itself unique. Daisy Steere is the only actress on stage throughout the show and portrays over a dozen different characters. It is her performance which lifts this show to 5 stars as she is absolutely phenomenal at uniquely portraying each character. Her use of body language, mannerisms, accents and timing is utterly brilliant and we see so many different layers of the characters she performs.
This spectacularly witty show written by Tobia Rossi and Oliver Lidert is satire at its best. It’s peppered with pop culture references and musical nods that had the entire audience in absolute stitches. It’s a show that truly understands the nuance of feminism and underscores many of the problems of our society and the criticisms of reality shows with laser accuracy. Whether the dynamics of parent and child, viewer and contestant or between the different contestants themselves we see the many different forms that humans can lift each other up or tear each other down with equal candour. The different levels of the actual show discussed sound fantastic with getting out of the ‘House of Toxic Masculinity’, betraying your friends with ‘Grass on Your Girls Lie Detector Test', fighting your employer with 'Break the Glass Ceiling Booty Camp,' and my personal favourite of 'Defeat the Patriarchy with Table Tennis.' The audience very quickly sees right through the “big family” rhetoric of the producer and a lot of humour and empathy is raised for both the contestants and producers alike in their struggle to be a woman in this contradictory world.
Directed by Ruthie Stephens with a clear, gleeful drive this show is absolutely fantastic and really enjoyable to watch throughout. The use of screens to represent other characters and perspectives was an excellent touch and really made the experience feel immersive and interesting.
I absolutely adored this show with its perfect balance of satire and sincerity. If you enjoy reality TV, soap opera drama and incredible insights into the world of TV and its magnification of our society and its flaws, whilst narrated by a fabulous actress and dynamic singing then this is the show for you!
At The Other Palace until 9 March 2025
★★★★★
