Review Roundup: MISS I-DOLL Opens at The Other Palace

West End performer Daisy Steere is starring in the electric one-woman musical comedy Miss I-Doll, playing the seemingly perfect reality TV show contestant Mia. Steere’s central role also offers a powerful multi-rolling performance as she takes on twelve other characters in the reality TV show. Natalie Casey brings her TV background to the musical comedy, as she personifies the reality show as a voiceover, guiding Mia and the audience through the production.  This modern tale of capitalism gone wrong, staged for a limited three-week run, is an entertaining, satirical statement of resilience, showing how women can be valued for who they truly are.

Mia enters the Miss I-Doll competition with the singular aim of fulfilling her dreams to become a global superstar but, on the night of the final, Mia’s world is disrupted as she loses her filter. As Mia speaks her mind on the true nature of the prime-time show’s feminine stereotypes, green washing, unethical marketing and pink washing, the show spirals out of control in a satirical, ruthless exploration of reality TV and the complex pressures often placed on women in today’s media age. See what the critics are saying...

Cindy Marcolina, BroadwayWorld: Though Miss I-Doll is already fairly complete even at this first outing, Mia is slightly engulfed by the rest of the (very interesting and very amusing) personalities. Combine it with a denouement that happens at lighting speed with too much do-goodery and you’ll find the crack in an otherwise solid piece of satirical theatre. Mia’s sudden radicalisation exposes corporate hypocrisy and condemns a system that thrives on reactionary figures but doesn’t take responsibility for any duty of care. Once you strip off all the irreverent fun and industry-specific observational humour, it’s a story about greed and the optics of the trade.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: The end twist is so contrived it seems incoherent, but the production does capture the tinny tone and pace of a reality TV competition, and Steere gives a thoroughly jaunty performance. It is a shame that the show rails against so many social ills but addresses none of them sharply enough.

Megan O'Neill, West End Best Friend: Fundamentally, this show makes a really impactful statement about society’s ability to turn women inside out trying to walk contradictory lines, whilst also blatantly and purposefully, shedding a spotlight on the extent to which we ignore the range of female identities that proudly exist by defining a ‘woman’ according to sex as opposed to gender. It doesn’t blame the problem solely on the patriarchy, it places the blame on everyone, arguing that to watch and, unintentionally or otherwise, participate in these sexist narratives causes more harm than good.