Writer: Cerys Duffy
Director: Andy McLeod
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Wickedly Funny“
4 / 5
Beth is an out of work journalist, desperate to try and get back into the media industry. Financially, it’s probably the worst time to make a big, life-changing decision – but best friend Tara wants to get pregnant, and because Beth hasn’t fully transitioned yet, she thinks Beth is the best option for her to do so.
Beth (Shane Convery) and Tara (Gennifer Becouarn) have been friends for years – both supporting each other whenever times have been tough, most notably, through Tara’s struggles to get pregnant and Beth’s online backlash from TERFs after a TV interview about their experience being trans went horribly wrong. When Tara floats the idea that Beth helps her get pregnant, Beth is encouragingly keen – under the explicit premise that they remain anonymous, but can still be involved in the babies life. Their other friend Samantha (Sophia Vi) is flabbergasted by the news, insistent that Beth should turn this into a clickbait style article to watch the money start rolling in.
Cerys Duffy’s storyline is like a tale of two halves. The first half is wickedly funny and fantastically unique – with Beth being played in the second person so the audience feel the full effect of what it means to be trans, and are completely immersed in the experiences Beth endures. The characters are all well established; Tara and her ADHD means she says things she doesn’t quite mean (or deep down, does she?), Rory (Matt Vickery) is the love interest that hates anyone talking badly about Beth, keen to stick up for what’s right, albeit sometimes not worded very sensitively, and despite being a bit of a fence sitter, while Samantha is sassy and full of confidence, taking no prisoners with her no holds barred attitude.
The second half, though still very enjoyable, does go a little bit all over the place, feeling less polished than the first act and more inspired by creating shock moments than the first acts clever, structured set up. Picking up after the article is published, the inevitable keyboard warriors are out in force, condemning Beth for their actions. Though, unexpectedly, rather than their friends and loved ones rallying around and supporting the blatant lies, they all turn against Beth in a frustrating, unexpected way, making the majority of the previously relatively likeable characters pretty reprehensible. Rory takes an abrupt turn with manosphere-style talking points, Samantha is the brains behind the outlandish backlash, and Tara completely ignores the huge favour her friend has done and throws it in her face with lies and betrayal.
What makes the shift particularly conflicting is that the accusations implied against Beth are incredibly serious, yet the narrative treats their consequences inconsistently. The issues are resolved so quickly and neatly at the conclusion that the emotional weight, and some of the intended messages, never fully land as they could. Samantha and Tara’s roles in particular are puzzling. Samantha is the architect of much of the backlash, but her motivations never feel fully explored. Given her own experiences as a trans woman, her willingness to weaponise anti-trans narratives against Beth raises fascinating questions, but the script largely glosses over them in favour of the generated conflict. Additionally, Tara’s leap from trusted friend and willing participant to allowing Beth to be portrayed as a villain feels so extreme that it strains credibility. In fact, the only characters that don’t do a complete 180 are Ian (Matt Roberts) who was short-tempered, and proudly uninterested in being an ally from the start, and comedic, laddish Gaz (Oliver Redpath) who on first impressions, would have been assumed to be one of the more judgemental characters, but actually ends up being one of the only ones who remains likeable and supportive of Beth throughout!
Despite these few frustrations, the production remains brilliantly entertaining thanks to Duffy’s consistently sharp humour and a committed cast. What makes the second act be put under so much scrutiny is that the first is genuinely excellent – funny, inventive and insightful. It would be fantastic if Duffy could find a way of keeping the tension and jaw-dropping revelations, while retaining some more of the character consistency established well in the first act. Doing so would make the later twists feel more impactful, while preserving the thoughtful and insightful qualities that make the opening half so compelling.
Runs until 6th June 2026
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