Back at the Vaults, guys! This time for the Vaults Festival 2018: a super exciting few weeks of new work from all kinds of talent, both discovered and undiscovered. Hitting the Wall describes their new production, The Internet was Made for Adults, as “a wickedly honest story of sex, friendship, and the internet – with an original live cabaret.” I love stories about sex, friendship and/or the internet, so this was right up my street.

The seats were unallocated, as they so often are at the Vaults, but on arrival, each audience member/group was assigned a seat by a member of the crew…which is always a horror of unallocated seating.

I came down the short staircase, was assigned a seat in the front row, sat down and took a look at the cast, already on the stage. Guys. It was an all-female cast. I never fail to get a thrill of excitement when faced with an all-female cast and, knowing the show was written with the topic of sex at its very core, the excitement swelled steadily as Fiona Jane (Phoebe), accompanied by Charlie Ives, practiced for…the show? Phoebe’s cabaret (more on that to come)? I’m still not quite sure, but I’m not mad about that.

We are thrown into the lives of Pheobe, Freya, Ellie, and Jamie: who seem to have all been flatmates at some point, though Freya no longer lives with the others. Jamie and Freya seem to have known each other most of their lives, though their connection isn’t explicit. As is the case with how Phoebe and Ellie have joined the fray. Something in me screams “UNI”, but I could be wrong. The show takes place principally over the course of one evening, leading up to a performance of a cabaret Phoebe has written and stars in. During the night, there is heavy drinking, Tinder swiping, porn watching, tea making, and heated arguments: all basic tenets of a standard Girls’ Night Out/In.

Phoebe’s cabaret songs are written by Jane herself: the songs are extremely funny and sexually transparent with lyrics like “I have an STD” and “I’ve seen all my friend’s weiners.” Jane’s voice is wonderfully versatile, ranging from bluesy jazziness to soft indie. If Phoebe had an actual cabaret, I would go without hesitation and I wished the show had a Vaults: Lates addition with the option to actually see this cabaret.

Krystal Dockery’s date-addicted Ellie is extremely sweet in her desperate loneliness. Jamie, a secondary school teacher, is portrayed with humorous, straight-laced, awkwardness by Georgina Strawson. Emily Francis has Freya’s polished shell of an exterior perfected, right down to her flawless red lipstick. And Jane’s Phoebe is brash, crass and utterly delightful. The women’s personalities bounce off each other amazingly well making their friendships entirely believable.

What this show does is actually talk about female sexuality. THANK THE SEX GODS! The girls talk about porn and promiscuity and casual sex and Vulvodynia. Never heard of Vulvodynia? Don’t feel bad; no one ever talks about it. It is surprisingly common and can affect a woman of any age at any level of health, yet it remains taboo. It was so delightfully refreshing to have a company address it head-on. Hitting the Wall describe their work as “bold, frank and funny theatre” created “as we shine a spotlight on issues that society doesn’t always feel comfortable confronting.” And I wholeheartedly agree. The Internet was Made for Adults is bold; it is honest; it is hilarious; and it is illuminating.

The pacing feels a bit odd at the end of the show. There’s one group number and at the end of it, I kind of expected the show to be over. But there was still another 10 minutes. Now, they were a good 10 minutes (and an absolutely necessary 10 minutes), don’t get me wrong, but after the climax of the song, I had assumed the show was over so I felt slightly displaced. Also, there were some very occasional moments of rushed timing throughout the show –times where I just wanted the cast to relax into their roles and trust themselves and their talent. However, considering I went on the very first performance, I’m chalking this up to first night jitters. These are the only complaints I could possibly make about the show…and these are both minor, personal niggles.

The Internet was Made for Adults is a fabulous show brought to life by extremely engaging performers; Hitting the Wall Productions is a very exciting company who I will most definitely be keeping up with from now on. Based on this show, I would fully endorse them to anyone looking for fun, relevant, and original female writing. I’ll definitely be buying a ticket to whatever show they put out next.

And Fiona, if you’re reading this and considering creating your own cabaret, do invite me. I’d totally be there. Front row. Every night.

The Internet was Made for Adults is playing at The Vaults Festival until 11th February 2018. For more information and tickets, see www,vaultfestival.com/whats-on/the-internet-was-made-for-adults/