Rom Com Wrong
Rom Com Wrong is a new pop musical about modern relationships, or rather how hard it is to form one, from the point of view of three 20-something women.
We meet the main protagonist Lydia, played by the author Lucy Cox, struggling with singledom and desperate to meet a new and significant other. Despite the advice of her two more savvy and cynical friends played by Gemma Giddings and Georgina MacFarlane she embarks on a Facebook stalking campaign to entrap the wealthy banker James (Jamie Mottershaw).
Although he is clearly unsuitable and has treated her shabbily she learns all his likes and dislikes and adopts them as her own, thus supposedly making herself the ideal girlfriend for him.
The scene where they meet up again and he finds out that they amazingly have so much in common is very funny, but when he comes on strong she contrarily runs a mile, not to spite him, but because she suddenly finds his keenness a huge turn off.
This story twist does run the risk of reinforcing the sexist cliché that all women really want to go out with rotters but it is deftly done and just avoids the trap.
The show is peppered with witty and catchy songs; the one about Facebook is particularly topical and fun. One or two numbers do get close to the edge, particularly the explicit “That dildo can’t fill the hole in your heart” but “I’m cooler than you because I’m drunker than you” is an excellent ironic anthem to youthful binge drinking.
The enthusiastic and talented team of four actors is brilliantly accompanied by their MD Gemma Hawkins and this clever and very entertaining debut from Ms Cox deserves to be taken further than the Edinburgh Fringe.
– Keith Myers
