Earlier this month, while at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I had the chance to see Sydney writer and comedian Hannah Reilly’s brand-new one-woman show, Roleplay.
The 70-minute production has already completely sold out its Edinburgh Fringe run, across 22 shows. In part, this came out of early buzz from must-see show lists on publications like The Guardian, Time Out Edinburgh, and even our own publication.
And then there’s the pedigree of the show’s producers.
Francesca Moody is well known amongst Fringe patrons for having produced two of the festival’s biggest success stories, Baby Reindeer and Fleabag. Both became huge success stories on the small screen. Will Roleplay follow suit? It’s too early to say, but the quality of the show, and the acclaim it’s enjoyed to date, certainly suggests there’s a strong future for this production.
The other producers are Global Creatures, the Australian company responsible for some massive productions in recent years, like Moulin Rouge! The Musical and King Kong. Such only underlines the faith that has been put into Reilly, and this show.
One of Australia’s most prolific directors, Paige Rattray has been developing the show with Reilly and serves as its director. And this isn’t the only show she’s developed in the UK. In recent years, she directed the UK premiere of Fangirls, and also worked on the West End production of A Picture of Dorian Gray with Sarah Snook.
Writer and star Hannah Reilly, meanwhile, has long been producing works for stages in Sydney. There was the hilarious Yarramadoon, a musical she wrote and performed with her sister Eliza back in 2018. The pair also starred in and created the ABC series Growing Up Gracefully that same year. In 2019, Hannah’s debut solo show, Direct Eye Contact, looked at her experience hosting a sex and relationships show on triple j. Roleplay serves as something of a spiritual follow up to this production. Hannah was also the writer of the hilarious musical The Deb. And that’s just scratching the surface of her already impressive career.
Roleplay marks Hannah’s international debut, and her first performance at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s technically the second time the show has been performed, after she debuted it with a soft run at Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre in February. So she’s not entering this run blind. But Edinburgh was billed as its official world premiere.
The show is one of the best one-person shows I’ve ever seen. Comparisons to Fleabag would be easy, but lazy. Reilly’s is a unique voice, and the fast-paced NSFW show puts her to work. As she delves into her engrossing story, Reilly expertly jumps between multiple characters, microphones and costumes. She even lines up sound effects on a sampling board.
Projections and lighting – alongside sound and music cues – are used to great effect by her fantastic supporting tech. This helps to change scenes, characters and locations with ease. Often at a breathtaking speed. Reilly barely takes a moment to breathe as she takes us through a story which she says at the show’s start is filled with some truths, some lies – and for the rest, “you can mind your own fucking business”.
Without giving much away, in the show Reilly plays the character Danni, a struggling feminist podcaster whose latest project takes the eye of a major media corporation. Though it started as a joke, the show’s slogan “Hey Slut!” becomes something of her mantra, as she embodies a version of herself even she doesn’t recognise.
The journey she takes us on is clearly personal, though well exaggerated for comedy, and theatre. It’s oft-hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, and leaves the audiences with a lot to think about in terms of how we commodify and sexualise talented females in the media landscape. And what damage that – and celebrity – can do to one’s ego and mental health.
Roleplay positions Hannah Reilly as Australia’s next great theatre export. And I for one can’t wait to see what happens next, for her, and this show. Well, we do actually know what’s coming next. Following its sold out run at the world’s largest art festival, Roleplay is getting a run at London’s Soho Theatre this October.
I loved every minute of this show, and if you get a chance to see it, in London or wherever else it ends up, it’s not to be missed.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Roleplay continues at Tech Cube Zero at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Fringe until 31st August 2026.
To see if any tickets to this sold out run pop up before then, and for more details about the production, head HERE.
The show will be performed at the Soho Theatre in London from 22nd October to 21st November 2026. More details can be found HERE.
The author attended the production at his own expense on 14th August 2026.
