Little Lark of London

“It’s not the same . . . Having things and caring for them”

Dickless is a one-hander written by Aisha Josiah, directed by Emily Aboud and performed by Rosaleen Cox. The show follows the lives of Saph and Oli, two young adults living in a small town in Dunningham. We begin with Saph, who is worried about her face being messed up by Judy, who is angry at Saph as she believes that she slept with her boyfriend, Oli “The Cause of My Downfall” Fenton. Cox portrays Saph as an incredibly dramatic young woman obsessed with her appearance, proud of who she is. 

But, Saph must set aside her worries, as she is now part of a revenge plot with her friend against a boy, Smith Henry. Saph’s friend, Saint Flick, is heartbroken as Smith Henry has spread the rumour that she has a penis, posting about it on social media to gain more traction. The two women decide to bottle (quite literally smashing a bottle on someone) Smith Henry at a bar, coming up with a plan in which Saph seduces the man and leads him to Saint Flick, who will be ready to strike. Unfortunately, some secrets are revealed during this little escapade, pitting Saint Flick against not only Smith Henry but Saph as well. 

As you might expect with drama like this, everything starts to snowball into one large problem, with Saph being chased by “the 3-girl apocalypse” of women she has angered over the show including Judy, Titch (Judy’s younger sister) and Saint Flick. Saph is on the run, trying to get back home where she faces her mum and dad who have locked her out due to her disobedience, leading to more problems for our main character. 

The second half has Cox suddenly shifting into the role of Oli, transforming into the new character by zipping her tracksuit up to her chin, slicking her hair back and taking on a different voice. We have heard about Oli and his womanizing behaviour from Saph, but now we get to learn more about him from his perspective, including his thoughts on Saph and Judy. Even though Saph might not be aware of it, Oli is having his own problems, including someone blackmailing him with pictures of him wearing a dress.

Oli’s turn in the spotlight focuses more on gender identity, as Oli finds out something about himself that changes how he views his very being, which led to him wearing a dress in the first place. But, after a dramatic confrontation with the blackmailer, Saph’s and Oli’s stories collide and Cox takes on the difficult task of performing as both characters for the rest of the show. It is a tense and heartwrenching ending that brings everything together full-circle in a vicious cycle of revenge. 

The writing of Dickless is witty with quick monologues and “dialogues” in which Cox acts as multiple people within one conversation, and it is believable with Cox’s fantastic performance.   Even though nothing is actually shown, as Cox is performing on a stage with just a chair as a prop, there is some incredibly violent imagery, particularly when it comes to animals. I found myself wincing several times, especially as most of these moments are for shock value and really do not contribute much to the plot or show itself. Throughout the show, there are a lot of lighting and sound changes, and at times it feels like it’s a bit too much, interrupting Cox’s performance in moments that could have been more effective with silence. 

Ultimately, Dickless is a dark tragicomedy that focuses on a range of topics including violence, sex and gender identity. I would have loved for the gender identity aspect to be explored more in the first half, giving us a contrast to what we are given in the second half, but it is certainly an interesting look into the life of someone questioning their gender and role in society. 

Dickless ran as a part of the Riverside Studios Bitesize Festival. For more information about the festival, click here.

Photo Credit: Russ Rowland