WOMEN OVER 30 DON’T MATTER

The Space

★★★★

“both bring crisp comic timing and refreshingly layered performances”

Being a woman is hard – so many hidden rules and expectations to navigate. What if you could make all the stress and overthinking disappear? ‘Women Over 30 Don’t Matter’ cracks the patriarchy with AI-powered technology, exposing misogyny in all its guises in this snappy, incisive and wickedly funny new play.

Tasha and Priya couldn’t be more different: Tasha, a clean-eating princess from the States, expects perfection; Priya, a practical South Asian daughter, just wants to be taken seriously. They’re thrown together on a career defining project in London – building an AI driven app called ‘You Go Girl’ – that could finally make the ‘woman with it all’ a reality. However, budding friendship sours when their manipulative male boss’ promises of promotion pits them against each other. Luckily, they soon realise neither the app nor their boss has their backs. Can they break free of the patriarchy? Come see it and find out!

Written and performed by Aishwarya Gaikwad and Carly Hendrick, ‘Women Over 30 Don’t Matter’ is tightly crafted, richly textured and bitingly satirical. Workplace clichés, such as warring women, female tokenism and ‘having it all’, crumble under razor-sharp scrutiny to expose the institutional sexism beneath. Patriarchy, workplace harassment and power abuses are cleverly criticised without feeling didactic – the fact both women are foreigners and yet intimately familiar with male-dominated dynamics speaks volumes. Both women start out as stereotypes but gradually reveal their humanity, balancing satire with introspection. It’s all tightly wrapped in punchy and downright hilarious offstage exchanges. The club scene is a minor weak spot, drifting slightly and lacking a little comedic sparkle, but as a debut play Gaikwad and Hendrick are clearly ones to watch.

Emilia Woodgate’s direction comes out swinging. Voiceover characters have a playful, caricature-esque quality. Super-fast scene changes are packaged in hilariously pointed pre-recorded jokes. The theatre’s vast arch is no wasted space, hosting side splitting slides (try saying that three times fast) that highlight our protagonists’ contrasts and deliver laughs in their own right. Clearer cues would clarify whether the dining table is office or home, and the echoey space demands sharper diction and/or more deliberate pacing in places. However, for what appears to be a directorial debut, Woodgate sets a high standard.

Designer and technician Eliza Jayne wows with an impressive tech script. The lighting design is sharply executed with great comic effect – from a spotlight snapping on unexpectedly in the boardroom, to the coy male-gaze pitch to investors. The sound design is witty and inventive, blending realistic effects with cutting satirical asides. Together these elements build a rich experience, offering enough context to offset the minimalist set. Costumes neatly contrast Tasha’s outward polish with Priya’s practical style, though fittingly both women appear more relaxed in themselves by the end.

Gaikwad and Hendricks give strong performances as Priya and Tasha respectively, complementing each other with heartfelt sincerity on one side and no nonsense straight talk on the other. Hendricks convinces most with sharp characterisation and confident projection, while Gaikwad occasionally falters over lines and could project more in the echoey space. Still, both bring crisp comic timing and refreshingly layered performances. The voiceover actors add hilarity, with Cyril Blake relishing the manipulative Mr. Miller and Sophie Welbourne nailing the sweetly satirical punch of You Go Girl, both showcasing impeccable timing.

‘Women Over 30 Don’t Matter’ is an impressive debut blending cutting wit and punchy design with a surprisingly layered take on womanhood. Make sure you catch this short run while you can!

WOMEN OVER 30 DON’T MATTER

★★★★

The Space

WOMEN OVER 30 DON’T MATTER

The Space

★★★★

“both bring crisp comic timing and refreshingly layered performances”