REVIEW: Puppy by Naomi Westerman at King's Head Theatre, 5 – 27 April
"Deeply intelligent, hysterically funny, and incredibly romantic" ★★★★ ½
Who knew dogging around the Princess Diana Memorial car park could be so thought-provoking and tender? In Puppy by Naomi Westerman, that's exactly what it is. Usually defined as the practice of sexual activity in secluded, public locations, this deeply intelligent, hysterically funny, and incredibly romantic comedy, shows us a warm and welcoming community of wildly diverse Londoners brought together by a joyful love of sex and hilariously humdrum chit-chat. Think WI with more blow jobs.
Set on the cusp of the OnlyFans era and amongst the proposed changes to pornography laws in the UK that would limit the depiction of certain sexual acts, Puppy at its heart gives us a queered classic rom-com with a genuinely unique take and unusually smart context. Accountant Jaz (Aisling O'Shea) tracks down her crush from the library, Maya (Amy Revelle), to a local dogging group at the Princess Di Memorial to try and meet her properly once and for all. There she finds a colourful collection of endearingly cheerful characters. They're all plugged into various levels of society, from a couple with a virginal Tory MP son to a bestselling self-published erotic novelist.
Ultimately, it's a love story. Through Jaz (O'Shea) and Maya's (Revelle) interactions at home and in the group, they get to know one another and build a relationship. And it is, at times, very, very funny.
It's not all sickly sweet though. As things arise from their joint venture starting a porn production company together, it doesn't shy away from difficult questions about sexuality and sexual identity, dealing with them head on. Whether it's trafficking or abuse, brilliantly crafted dialogue works these big themes into the plot with openness and integrity. It manages to be moving and relevant while conducting the tides of wonderfully ridiculous humour as well. Not everyone can achieve these kind of tonal acrobatics, but Puppy's finely tuned balance of light, dark, comedy and tragedy, silliness and seriousness is nothing short of masterful. A lot of that comes down to magnificent performances, particularly from the leads, Jaz (O'Shea) and Maya (Revelle), who are so natural that you feel you're actually peering into their private lives, watching their kind and intimate conversations about their wants, desires, traumas and histories as they fall in love and make a life. They feel like friends you've known for years.
The group as a whole has amazing chemistry as well though, up there with some of the best. In this way, there's something of the old school romantic comedies about it. And every single one of them has impeccable comic timing. So believable are their interactions with the space that you'd be forgiven for thinking they were wandering audience members. Again, this realism makes for a beautiful contrast with their exaggerated personalities and contributes to the warmth in the room. It's a very effective cocktail.
Brilliant set design by Rosin Jenner and direction by Kayla Feldman explodes the modest but impressive King's Head space into something much grander, moving seamlessly from the intimacy of a car seat to a bedroom, to the escalating demands of the porn studio to the 2014 face-sitting protest outside parliament. And having the whole cast on stage for most of the show adds to the sense of fondness and familiarity we feel for them by the end. Nice choice and performed well.
Then the expert intimacy direction by Christina Fulcher gives us fantastically choreographed (fully-clothed), stylised sex scenes that shimmer with charm and open-mindedness. Doggy-style, reverse cowgirl, pegging and role play. But somehow it's the kind of madly explicit material that you wouldn't feel embarrassed to take your grandma to.
Though the ending packs a punch, it slightly lacks the directorial verve of the rest of it. But that could be the constraints of the space, making what should be a large scale scene feel a bit more cramped than it should. Equally, that could also be because the rest of it was just so good.
Either way, this is a piece of theatre that makes you forget you're in a theatre. It's a whirlwind tour de force of love, friendship, sexual politics, and actual politics. It's also just like hanging out with your mates. Though with a lot more sex.
Photography: Steve Gregson
Puppy by Naomi Westerman
Directed by Kayla Feldman
King's Head Theatre, 5 – 27 April 2025
Reviewed by Alix Owen
