Review by Sophie Wilby
⭐️⭐️
Writer Tim Edge’s second play, One Of The Boys, debuts at the Playground Theatre to shine a light on misogyny and toxic masculinity in the workplace. As (acting) CEO of a large, international company, Eve might be considered to have her seat at the table. The question that Heidi, a young interviewee, forces Eve to confront is - at what cost? The play opens with a barrage of crude jokes, played off as ‘banter,’ that immediately show the kind of culture prevalent within this office. As this culture is threatened, Eve and her problematic co-workers Kevin and The Chair are at risk of being caught in the firing line, and the fight for survival begins.
Within One Of The Boys, Tim Edge is successful in his creation of characters. Eve is particularly nuanced, both a frustrating and a sympathetic character - almost at an anti-hero level. Miriam Grace Edwards depicts this nuance very well, eventually winning over the audience. Heidi, on the other hand, has a strong sense of self, fuelled by her beliefs, which drives her to be fierce, though it does not make her immune to the toxicity of the workplace culture. Jess Gough similarly plays this part incredibly well, delivering several ‘mic-drop’ moments with a cold, determined stare.
The male characters are perhaps less dynamic in that their main function is to be hated - and it is straightforward to hate them. Daniel Kendrick as Kevin, in particular, oozes slime as he describes his sexual conquests with his co-workers, describing himself as a dog that cannot be caged. While he is more open in his overly euphemistic dialogue, within which much of the humour of the piece is contained (even if it is perhaps a little overdone), there is something more disturbing about The Chair’s (Matt Ray Brown) more subtle comments and actions. His derogatory treatment of women is more insidious and all the more deplorable for it.
That being said, I was left wanting a little bit more from this story. While it is undoubtedly an important issue worthy of being portrayed on stage, One Of The Boys felt predictable. It is, after all, not an unfamiliar topic and so I wanted One Of The Boys to add something a little more to the conversation, which unfortunately I was disappointed by. Still, there are real moments of poignancy - notably a scene between young and optimistic Heidi, purporting that things for women in the workplace can change and improve against an older, downtrodden Eve who has accepted that if you can’t beat them - join them is the only way for a woman to thrive in her career. It is a stark, confronting scene and demonstrates Tim Edge’s clear skills as a writer.
Though thankfully it is not an issue I have personally experienced - certainly not to this extreme degree - from conversations with other women in similar environments, this portrayal of toxic masculinity in a corporate world is an accurate one. It is clear then, that real care has been taken to craft a realistic story. While this itself is thought-provoking, I do question whether it is powerful enough to be one of those stories that stay with you enough to have a real impact.
Particularly an issue for me was the ending, which I will attempt to discuss without giving too much away, but anyone particularly adverse to spoilers should skip this paragraph. As the story builds to one final climax, an initially powerful scene is tainted as it veers in a different direction which threatens to undo the positive, female empowerment stance that prevailed throughout the rest of the play. A female character is portrayed as irrational, emotional, and reactive - which feels like the antithesis of the overall message of the play. Though the writer asks us to think about the play, get angry and make a change, I instead am left disappointed and uninspired.
Promotion for the show depicted it as a nail-biting thriller but there were not enough surprises or dramatic twists-and-turns to create that sense of tension or anxiety to warrant such a description. There were attempts to manufacture tension within the scene transitions, utilising a 2:22 A Ghost Story-esque clock to show the passing of time as the lights flashed and dramatic music played. During these transitions, there was also an attempt to reflect the fight for survival through animalistic movements such as hunching over, and nearly baring their teeth at one another. Though I can understand the rationale behind such dramatic scene transitions, they felt a little unnecessary. Ellie Wintour’s set itself, however, was a perfect portrayal of a drab, stark corporate office, void of any real personality or warmth thus complimenting the negative culture within it.
Though there were elements in the execution of this subject matter which I found disappointing, it is deserving of being explored on stage. For that, I thank this play for reminding us that toxicity in the workplace is an ongoing issue and that the push for change is needed. With only 30% of management roles in the UK being held by women, the disparity in employment opportunities is stark. Eve may be one of those 30%, but the sacrifices she had to make to achieve it are severe, whilst The Chair can have a wife and a family, Eve’s personal life suffers due to her ambition. In other words, while her male colleagues can ‘have it all,’ she was forced to choose. Though there is a question of appropriateness when it comes to a man writing for the female experience, it is a reality that I am sure is familiar to many women. Though it is a depressing reality, Tim Edge suggests that it is possible to change. I hope that he is correct in his suggestion and that the Heidis of the world never lose their passion for eliciting change.
One Of The Boys plays at the Playground Theatre until October 27th
For tickets and information visit https://www.theplaygroundtheatre.org.uk/whats-on
Photos by Craig Fuller