74,727 rapes have been reported in 2026. Only 2,333 have been charged: a mere 3.4%. These are the grim statistics that Charlotte Ashton’s sharp new play, DOLLY, confronts us with. On the one hand, it’s a gripping exploration of the impact of one woman’s experience of sexual assault, and on the other, it’s a brilliantly witty comedy of sorts. As director Anthony Biggs acknowledges, at a time when cases like Cornell are dominating our media and feeds, DOLLY feels “painfully timely”. And it’s true. Ashton doesn’t beat around the bush with what she presents in DOLLY: an uncomfortable yet realistic portrayal of the aftermath of one woman’s sexual assault.
Jessica Clark plays Dolly, a comedian who spends 90% of her time working as a waitress at a Tex-Mex. She’s got her work husband, Cam, who keeps her sane in the pool of inappropriate groping by customers, and big “Paws”, aka Paul, her 6’5″ boyfriend, who she insists is lovely. Just lovely. Clark, or Dolly, jumps straight into her usual stand-up routine, instantly getting laughs from the audience for her remarks about stag dos. We meet Dolly at her best: happy, confident, and making people laugh. But on her way home from work one night, about 10 minutes into this 75-minute one-woman play, Dolly is assaulted by a stranger, setting a devastating spiral of her life into motion.
Clark plays a myriad of characters, effortlessly jumping between Dolly and Paul, Dolly and her therapist, and Dolly and the police officer she reports her assault to. Giving Clark free rein over these characters allows her to convey the desperation and increasingly frantic state of mind that engulfs Dolly, while also offering an alternative perspective on the investigation into her case and the consequences this has on her life.
Clark is sensational as Dolly. She expresses all the emotions felt by women who have ever experienced something similar: anger, resentment, betrayal, desperation, borderline neurosis, and everything in between. For a play with such heavy themes, Clark maintains a vivacious spirit throughout, in line with her character’s comedic side, but also doesn’t shy away from the emotional onslaught of these themes. It’s a performance that is at once courageous and brave, angry and infuriating, and Clark is utterly captivating. She commands the attention of her audience at all times.
Ashton’s script is incredibly well-crafted, bringing real-life perspectives to the forefront of the play. It’s a brutally honest and raw, reflective and considerate piece of writing, while also being brilliantly funny. It feels like Ashton found the perfect Dolly in Clark, and that Clark found her perfect challenge in Ashton’s script. The performance feels frantic and chaotic, but in a way that you understand, perfectly encapsulating the feelings that Dolly is experiencing as a result of her sexual trauma.
Ashton’s script confronts many cold, hard truths. One significant implication is that men, but not all men, or should I say No Tall Men, will always fall short in their understanding of an experience like this. Ashton captures this wonderfully through her characterisation of Paul. Paul is a loving and kind partner to Dolly both before and after her assault, but his response doesn’t quite live up to Dolly’s expectations. But I don’t think Dolly is even aware of what those expectations are. She just wants justice, which kind-hearted Paul simply cannot provide.
Another is that incidents like this are so often downplayed by society. Dolly’s therapist assures her that being groped, followed or harassed is part and parcel of being a girl. A bespoke bundle of girlhood. Perhaps if Greta Gerwig had been offered that same reassurance, Barbie might have been a very different film. Dolly is told to try her best to move on, and when she attempts to regain her sense of self through an unconventional form of empowerment, it’s comical because of how far-fetched it is to believe a woman would ever behave in such a way. But the irony of it all is that men, but not all men, behave in similar ways towards women every day with little to no consequences. It’s an infuriating reminder of the complete lack of agency that women in this position have. Seek justice through the criminal justice system, and there’ll hardly ever be sufficient evidence. Or your case will get rejected before it’s even considered. Seek justice by mirroring men’s behaviour, and you’ll be the one standing trial. Ashton offers a compelling social commentary on the experience of being a woman, brilliantly executed by Clark.
The technical elements of this play are effective, with Clark’s assembly of props on stage, Skylar Turnbull Hurd’s lighting and Roly Botha’s sound design working in tandem to create a compelling supporting layer. However, this production does rely quite heavily on these elements to convey the gravity of Dolly’s situation, which is already powerfully communicated through Clark’s performance. At times, the simultaneous bursts of sound and flashes of light feel excessive, even momentarily distracting from the play’s central themes.
Despite its heavy themes, DOLLY positions itself as an essential piece of theatre with a genius social commentary. It’s timely, funny, infuriating, and will certainly prompt a conversation (or rage) with your friends. DOLLY is playing at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham until Saturday 7th November.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
