The Misandrist

by Lisa Carroll

'Maybe it's in the air. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the pace of life. Maybe it's breathing in that black soot everyday on the tube. Maybe it's commuting. Maybe it's the cultural consciousness. Maybe it's being a millennial. Maybe it's the climate crisis. Maybe it's the patriarchy.'

When 'intimidating' Rachel and eternal 'nice guy' Nick meet at an awkward work Christmas party, what was meant to be a one-night-stand becomes a sexual odyssey of self-discovery… and mutual destruction.

Adrift, isolated and insecure, they scramble for new ways to connect. Can some playful, passionate pegging provide a pathway through the pitfalls of modern relationships and present the possibility of a deeper bond?

A penetrating comedy about the search for sexual knowledge, true love and top-notch Tupperware, Lisa Carroll's play The Misandrist was first produced by Metal Rabbit Productions at the Arcola Theatre, London, in May 2023.

Genres: Plays

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, rounded down.

I guess you can make a play about anything these days - Exhibit A, this play which is - more or less - about 'pegging'. To be fair, that's just kind of the 'hook', but there is an AWFUL lot of talk about the subject - not that that's a BAD thing. The dialogue is engaging, naturalistic and often quite funny, and the two characters are both idiosyncratically winning...

What I didn't feel worked well is that the two actors have to portray a a handful of subsidiary characters as well, and those transitions always seemed awkward, and I think might be hard for the audience to figure out. Also - needs to have about a half an hour cut from the 2.5 hour running time.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend...
https://www.thereviewshub.com/the-mis...

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

soooooooo good. I wish I could have seen it in person (missed the show by a mere three months). I have so much curiosity about how some scenes were staged.

much to chew over. and the ending was true to the story. I don't know why it took so long for me to read. sometimes it's like that!

[Dexter Nardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but just good. Not bad by any means and I don’t think trying to say anything insanely nuanced about men and misogyny, moreso just a good romanceish story about complex hurt people
Thanks Grant

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Carroll is a wonder. The whole thing was so entertaining but, for me, it was the long monologues near the end that blew me away. At times it felt like she was in my brain, saying all the things I felt needed to be said.

I’m gutted I missed the chance to see this on stage (would love to know how the sex scenes played out, in my head it was definitely lightsabers) but I’m so glad I could read the book.