Review: Dolly, Omnibus Theatre

Jessica Clark in Dolly, Omnibus Theatre. Photo: Carla Joy Evans Dolly at the Omnibus Theatre is not always an easy watch; it references many incidents from the uncomfortable to the downright terrifying that women endure at the hands of men. The sad fact is that there will likely be something that is familiar to every woman in the audience. We first meet Dolly (Jessica Clark) when she is doing stand up. She uses crowd work to set the scene and launch into the story of what happened at her other job. To make money she also works as a waitress in the sort of Tex Mex that attracts stag parties, But the handsy, drunk customers and an inappropriate male colleague are the least of her worries and not what will throw her at the mercy of the justice system. It is a justice system that will prove to be an unstable life raft. Those sent to help Dolly, ironically, highlight its injustice, showing how normalised what women endure has become. Breaking the tension Dolly’s stand-up side-hustle breaks…