Writer and Director: Ainhoa Barrio
Feminism seems to have passed by Lorena’s world. Possibly the playwright’s too. Admittedly this is a comedy, but just how much comedy can be squeezed out of a situation in which a 30-something single woman – a ‘singleton,’ no less, – is holding out for a Prince Charming? And whose major concern is her need to find a date to take to her sister’s wedding?
Lorena (played by Ainhoa Barrio, who is also the writer and director) is an aspiring script writer. But if her sexual fantasies are anything to go by, she really ought to get careers advice. Her favourite one is set in a rainforest where Jack, an Indiana-Jones-type figure, appears in a hat to rescue her from encounters with a hungry jaguar. When it comes to live sexting, it gets no more raunchy than Lorena describing herself ‘hot and slippery’ in a candle-lit bath. Anaïs Nin, eat your heart out.
Hervey (Max Marcq), who she hooks up with on Tinder, comes out with corny chat-up lines about the synergies between them. He is supposed to be a cinematographer, but he too fancies he has a blockbusting film script inside him. So far he’s only decided it’ll be about gangster wars and a mysterious woman. Cue the onstage acting out of another family-friendly fantasy.
Admittedly there is quite a lot of masturbation on stage, but it’s becomes increasingly tame with repetition. There’s one genuinely funny sex scene, funny because Lorena and Hervey are no longer playing fantasy versions of themselves and the whole thing is more awkward and clumsy than either imagined.
A more detatched writer might have explored Lorena’s peculiar psychology. Why does she repeatedly snap out of blatantly provocative behaviour into towering rages, for example? If Barrio intends this to be a satire on toxic masculinity, why does she undermine the point by requiring Lorena to dress and undress on stage.
There are a few laughs, but for the most part this is shallow, tired stuff.
Runs until 24 April 2022
3 Comments
This show is hilarious. Lorena is in the process of finding her self value, as we all are, and we are given the chance to look inside her thoughts through her actions. In her search for companionship and a partner with whom to attend her sister’s wedding she finds herself embroiled in instant sexual gratification. Harvey’s deep suductive voice draws the audience into his fantasies and is a lovely contrast to Lorena’s soft foreign tone. There was much laughter in the audience in response to this very sexy and relevant work.
That’s was the funniest show I have been too in ages. It was humour, sex and reality all in one.
Inside Lorena took you on a journey of self discovery which, as we know, is hard with inbuilt trauma, life lessons and triggers which are very real for a lot of us. I could relate to all of it, from the superficial, insecure life on dating apps to finding her inner domme.
The audience roared with laughter throughout the play, which makes absolutely no reference Anais Nin, feminism or toxic masculinity. This play is incredibly funny, sexy and resonant.