Jobsworth,
The Park Theatre,
London
Dates of run: Until December 6
Writer/performer Libby Rodliffe
Writer Isley Lynn
Director Nicky Allpress
Running time: Approximately 90 minutes
Libby Rodliffe is not only a performer, she is a writer.
As a performer, she takes on more than ten roles, one of which is Bea, who has four jobs.
The frantic result is a loud and unflattering comment on our times of zero-hour-contracts, remote working and the yawning gap between millennials and boomers. It is also a comedy rooted in the time-honoured, dramatic tradition of building up layers of tension through convoluted lying that at some point will get found out.
The production’s strength derives from Rodliffe’s versatility that at once satirises and vividly conveys the characters for whom she slaves.
If I have a quibble, it’s with the weirdness of her father’s occupation that is the ultimate cause of her wildly unsustainable activity. Somehow, it doesn’t quite convince as a justification, but maybe that’s the point.
There is also a sudden shift to documentary when we’re told straight that hundreds of thousands of people consider suicide each year because of debt. It’s a serious message, but a jolt in tone.
Lastly, I question the title. If anything, it should be the plural jobs’worth, but the reality is Rodliffe’s Bea is no jobsworth: she’s a highly entertaining woman of many parts.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
Jobsworth,
The Park Theatre,
London
Dates of run: Until December 6
Writer/performer Libby Rodliffe
Writer Isley Lynn
Director Nicky Allpress
Running time: Approximately 90 minutes
Libby Rodliffe is not only a performer, she is a writer.
As a performer, she takes on more than ten roles, one of which is Bea, who has four jobs.
The frantic result is a loud and unflattering comment on our times of zero-hour-contracts, remote working and the yawning gap between millennials and boomers. It is also a comedy rooted in the time-honoured, dramatic tradition of building up layers of tension through convoluted lying that at some point will get found out.
The production’s strength derives from Rodliffe’s versatility that at once satirises and vividly conveys the characters for whom she slaves.
If I have a quibble, it’s with the weirdness of her father’s occupation that is the ultimate cause of her wildly unsustainable activity. Somehow, it doesn’t quite convince as a justification, but maybe that’s the point.
There is also a sudden shift to documentary when we’re told straight that hundreds of thousands of people consider suicide each year because of debt. It’s a serious message, but a jolt in tone.
Lastly, I question the title. If anything, it should be the plural jobs’worth, but the reality is Rodliffe’s Bea is no jobsworth: she’s a highly entertaining woman of many parts.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
By Barbara Lewis • added recently on London Grip, plays, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre