Review: Paradise Now at the Bush Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush
We’ve all had one of those messages, haven’t we? “Hey hun! It’s me, the loose acquaintence from high school you haven’t thought about in 20 years! How have you been? Anyway can I tell you about a lifechanging business opportunity I think you’d be perfect for?”
Multilevel marketing, or MLM, has come a long way since the early days of Avon ladies and Tupperware parties. Nowadays, the internet is sellers’ primary tool of choice, with social media posts showing off enviable lives and flogging anything from kitchenware to children’s books, makeup, and essential oils. MLMers aren’t just selling a product, they’re selling a lifestyle, and they want you to join them… for a small start-up fee you’ll totally make back in your first week, of course.
MLMs are also regarded by many as exploitative, preying on vulnerable individuals (mostly women) such as cash-strapped students and lonely stay-at-home mums with promises of flexible work, an extra income, and a community of likeminded women. 99% of these recruits will lose money. Many MLMs are little more than pyramid schemes exploiting a legal loophole to stay in business.
Having seen several acquaintences sucked into these companies and witnessed second hand the destruction they can cause, I was intrigued by Paradise Now, a new play by Margaret Perry which follows the lives of a group of women working for a fictional essential oil MLM called Paradise.
What’s it about?
Gabriel Dolan lives with her sister Baby and has been out of work for some time while recovering from a mental health breakdown. Baby, overworked and exhausted by her job in a department store, supports them both. When Gabriel meets Alex, an ambitious and vivacious younger woman who sells essential oils for MLM company Paradise, she is soon convinced to sign up under her.
Gabriel rises quickly through the ranks of the company and is embraced by her new “sisters”. But there’s trouble in Paradise and, at annual cultvention Paradise Now, this seemingly perfect floral-scented world begins to unravel.
Any content notes?
There was a handy content notice posted on the door which included the following warnings:
Use of strong language, nudity, consumption of alcohol (NB a character gets fully nude on stage)
Depiction of physical injury with fake blood
Themes of depression and anxiety, including a depiction of a panic attack and grief in relation to child loss
Description of homophobia and the use of the word “pervert” in a homophobic context
Food eaten on stage including grapes, crisps, chips, coconut
There’s also the use of flashing lights, haze, and loud music. The age guidance for Paradise Now suggests it is suitable for ages 14+.
Paradise Now: My Review
Paradise Now is a beautifully observed piece of writing, with natural-sounding dialogue that marries comedy with a deep, bleak sadness. Its satirical and entertaining packaging doesn’t entirely mask the core of loneliness, grief, financial pressures, and family problems that lead these women to seek salvation in £30 bottles of oil.
Paradise Now is at its best when it reveals the corporate cultishness of the MLM world. From the conference “training sessions” (which offer very little actual training) to the lovebombing sales patter to the WhatsApp chat filled with banal pseudo-motivational memes, it lays bare the destructiveness of toxically-positive girlboss culture and the shallowness of consumerism as #selfcare. In these scenes, the satire is razor-sharp and audible gasps (and groans) of recognition could be heard from the audience.
[Left to right] Michele Moran as Gabriel, Carmel Winters as Baby, Shazia Nicholls as Alex, Ayoola Smart as Carla, Annabel Baldwin as Anthie, and Rakhee Thakrar as Laurie in Paradise Now. Photo: Helen Murray
Though the writing is excellent, much of Paradise Now’s impact is non-verbal. From my vantage point in the second row, I got to enjoy the subtlety of the actors’ facial expressions in all their glory. All six members of the women-only cast give it their all, embodying their roles with commitment and confidence. Michele Moran leads the cast as Gabriel, bringing tragicomic pathos that easily gets the audience on her side.
Shazia Nicholls is pitch perfect as Alex, the intrepid upline of the Paradise gang. Flawlessly glamorous and charismatic on the surface, her insecurities appear through the cracks even as the tries to paper over them with false smiles and barely-concealing-my-rage charm. Another standout performance was from Rakhee Thakrar, initially hilarious and then heartbreaking as jittery, slowly-unravelling Laurie.
Photo: Helen Murray
I wasn’t sure about Rosie Elnile’s boardroom-style set at first, though it grew on me throughout the play as it reveals much more than ititially meets the eye. The use of the column during the “Orchid Lounge” scene in act two is particularly clever.
One stroke of genius in this show’s staging was to have Fiona Franks, the She-E-O (anyone else’s entire body cringe at that?) of Paradise, presented by a disembodied voice from on high. This imbues her with a Godlike status, which is clearly how the women of Paradise view the “man behind the curtain” - or rather, the woman behind the megaphone. There’s a reason many people believe MLMs are cults.
Photo: Helen Murray
At the end of the first act, I scribbled in my notes I hope they are going to address that these ‘successful’ women probably aren’t actually making any money. If not, this play has missed its own point. Fortunately, it delivered and then some in that regard in act two, not pulling any punches in its criticism of MLM culture as the six women throw bottles of oils haphazardly into a bag, symbolically cleaning up the mess Paradise has made of their lives. The human pyramid teambuilding exercise is hardly subtle, either.
The image of Gabriel face down in a pile of essential oil bottles will stay with me for a long time and probably pop up into my head every time I get one of those “HEY GIRLY” messages. I actually wish the play had ended with this scene, because by far my biggest criticism of Paradise Now is that it is far too long. Friday’s performance clocked in at 2 hours 45 minutes including the 15-minute interval. Half an hour could easily be shaved off without losing anything of substance to the plot and themes. I also found the ending scene a little unsatisfying.
New plays usually have some creases to iron out and often continue to develop through and after their first run. This surprising and layered play isn’t quite Paradise yet, but it is entertaining, on-the-nose, and highly watchable.
Where to get tickets
Paradise Now runs at the Bush Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush, until 21 January 2023. Tickets are available directly from the theatre or from reputable London theatre vendors.