Writers: Noel Prasad and Saadiya Ali
Hot Goss tightly packs in categories of politics from all corners of our modern world: feminist, sexual and most importantly, office. This double feature has some moments of intrigue and humour, particularly in the production’s second feature, Real Housewives of Bible, which serves to entertain and confront preconceived notions of femininity and religion with a punchy aftertaste. The first feature, The Assistant, is a comedic exploration into power dynamics in professional and personal environments, blurring the lines of when these are appropriately mixed, though perhaps falling short of living up to the eccentricities in the plot.
The Assistant, performed by Noel Prasad and featuring Ian Black, opens with a captivating plot hook that immediately undermines the audience’s expectations of a bland office environment, through cleverly minimal set design, after it is implied that Barry, the protagonist’s boss, is dead. The introduction of the boss’ name before the protagonist is one that reflects the unrelenting power dynamics within professional environments and establishes this theme from the get-go.
However, the play addresses many more relationship dynamics beyond that of a useless boss and a bitterly unhappy assistant, accompanied by dry sarcasm from which the play does not stray. In order to play into the somewhat wild plot, there could be more depth to Prasad’s character, with a more intense insanity seeming to set in the farther along the play we go, as at the moment The Assistant lacks too much of the ‘crazy’. Despite some good physicality, the pace of the piece makes it a little sluggish at points, with too many pauses taken between lines as well as a lack of variation in pitch that could keep the audience enthralled. Though the piece has successful moments and humorous juxtapositions whether it is skincare and whiskey, or apples and death, the entire piece could be more enticing to allow Prasad to portray a real sense of psychosis that would make the casual dry sarcasm stand out.
Real Housewives of Bible by Saadiya Ali excels in writing and conviction, using a wide breadth of biblical stories and picking them apart from a feminist perspective. She instantly draws us into her comically ‘hysteric’ biblical female role, entering the stage in drunk tears and an abundance of smudged makeup, but as we continue to watch we see her reveal the only reason for her hysteria (that is so often used to as a tool of diminishing women) is because of her male counterparts and their biblically-justified, honourable, heroic, courageous… murderous… tendencies.
We see her unwrap the beautifully packaged lie that the bible feeds women, and the feminine rage that comes with expectations of child-bearing and home-tending. In many ways a modern Lysistrata, Ali finds moments of real emotional turmoil beneath the comedic display of the ridiculousness of some biblical laws, but sometimes struggles with finding variation in comedic cursing and sarcasm for new ways to approach the humour in this piece, making some jokes feel a little recycled. Her performance is confidently delivered, assured and full of energy, as well as having great pacing that keeps the audience entertained, but some sections lose steam through the lack of contrast of comedic techniques.
Overall, Real Housewives of Bible is a mostly successful attempt to strip back male biblical heroism and discover social truths that are behind the mask of religion.
Reviewed on 5 August 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
