HARD -Review- The Vaults, Waterloo, London

 Hard

The Vaults, Waterloo, London

21 November 2021

***A wonderfully funny look into the other side of the sex industry…The back door if you will***

I saw “Hard” at The Vaults in Waterloo, and after meeting Alison earlier that day for an interview, I was very much looking forward to seeing the show. She had a fun, bubbly nature about her, and the way she spoke about the show really piqued my interest…given the subject matter though, I didn’t need much piquing anyway.

The show opens with the lead being bent over a chair and a man behind her, who you can tell is really rather enjoying himself. What becomes apparent pretty quickly though, is that he thinks she is really enjoying herself too. Had I not known what the show was about, I may have wondered what the opening was, “surely they can’t be having a sex scene as an opener?”…but I did know what it was about, and it was a perfect opener, a great way to set you up for the fun that was coming.

We are then taken through how the lead “Zee” gets into sex work, where she started, and how she progresses. While we see that there are people who are there because of other circumstances, our lead has made an informed choice, and is happy with that choice and the lifestyle it affords. There are some serious moments in the show, and that certainly shows character depth and great talent from the performers involved, but the focus is far more on the fun, light-hearted side.

This brings me nicely onto what my favourite part of the show is; the numerous characters. Each character (the various clients and other sex workers) is hilarious in their own right. The fact though that each performer plays so many different characters, and plays them well, really adds to the comedy value of the show. I would do the review an injustice though if I didn’t make special mention of Cameron Fraser, who had some absolute gems about his performance and character work.

A look at the other side of the sex work industry, unless you know a sex worker, you may never have the pleasure of being exposed to. I look forward to seeing this do well at the festivals.

David Selkirk

David and his electronic wizardry caught up with Alison before the show.