Jobsworth (Park Theatre) review – a sizzling, funny, emotive and urgent exploration of our broken economy

Everyone will see a part of themselves or their lived experience in the characters and story Rodliffe and Lynn have so diligently crafted in Jobsworth, now playing at the Park Theatre.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s 2024 report ‘Changing the narrative on wealth inequality‘, wealth inequality in the United Kingdom is high and it’s continuing to rise. In 2021, the bottom 50% of the population owned less than 5% of the wealth, while the top 10% owned a staggering 57%. I am sure these figures come as no surprise. After all, we all know the pressures of living in modern Britain, from soaring house prices that deny many people the opportunity to own their own home, to food prices that continue to go up year on year, and travel costs that have seen season tickets on our rail services require someone to take out a loan to go to work. We have become a society built on and serviced by debt, whether that be bank loans, credit cards or sharks who profit from people’s inability to pay them back.

Without sounding dramatic or overtly political, Britain is, and has long been, broken in wealth distribution and equality, like many other nations. And like those other nations, our politicians are unable, unwilling, and scared to make the significant social and financial changes needed to address the fault lines that grow wider with each passing year. Libby Rodliffe’s one-woman show, Jobsworth, co-written with Isley Lynn, isn’t just a sharp satirical comedy; it’s a rallying cry for us to wake up and smell the coffee.

© COPYRIGHT PHOTO BY MURDO MACLEOD

Bea’s (Rodliffe) life is akin to a tightrope walk as she attempts to maintain her balance while navigating a thin wire that never seems to end. Bea is a personal assistant at a large company, working under a seemingly relaxed boss, Julian. She even works from home, or does she? The truth is complicated.

As Bea sits on endless Zoom/Teams calls (I think we can all relate), the backdrop isn’t her home, but the concierge desk of a luxury apartment block. This is Bea’s second job, or is it her first? But that’s not all, she also cares for someone’s dog, a third job, or is it a second? And she works at night as a data inputter, a fourth job, or is it a third? In truth, despite Bea’s energy in keeping every plate spinning due to the cost of living, her life is unsustainable in the long term. She knows that, but does she really have any choice?

Bea knows she is just one of many people in the same position, from her parents, who have struggled to get by for years, to the intern at her first job, whom she has more than a passing interest in, the sweet and desperate to succeed, Niall. She knows this is just the way things are in a country where money, position and power are central to security, life and opportunity, but that doesn’t mean it’s right!

To hold an audience in the palm of your hand, solo, for eighty minutes is no mean feat, but to jump from one character to the next, each perfectly formed with their own unique accents and personalities, is nothing short of brilliance. Libby Rodliffe’s performance does both while navigating a complex, funny and emotional story that slowly unfurls like a flower in spring. Add simple stage lighting that perfectly reflects each location and the emotional beats present, and sound design that envelops the audience, further adding to a sense of place, and Jobsworth becomes a sizzling, funny, emotive and urgent play about the economic realities that now face so many in our broken financial and social system. There are laughs aplenty in this truly outstanding show, but it’s the story beneath those laughs that is far more urgent in its raw honesty.

Everyone will see a part of themselves or their lived experience in the characters and story Rodliffe and Lynn have so diligently crafted in Jobsworth. It’s a play that asks you to reflect on the current financial crisis born of decades of rampant capitalism, without ever preaching to its audience. It is a perfectly crafted, brilliantly written and stupendously performed one-woman play that is truly unmissable.      

Jobsworth is playing at the Park Theatre (Finsbury Park) until December 6.