Thigh Gap

Thigh Gap is a show about the pressures society puts on women in their self-image and careers – it’s an apt depiction, but ultimately doesn’t break any new ground. 

Gemma and Iris have just moved in together – Iris, played by Veronica Thomas, is an artist whose super-hot boyfriend recently broke up with her; Gemma, played by Lauren Mass, is in a steady relationship and is focusing on positive energy and her career. As the two deal with societal pressures put upon them to be successful in a man’s professional environment or to find a partner and feel beautiful, they spiral into a frenzy of eating disorders, untidiness, an addiction to cosmetics and obsessions with their exes. The action of the show is presented in small vignettes, all taking place in the living room of the women’s apartment, and as they descend into madness, the claustrophobia of the set builds.

The true saving grace of the show is the acting. Thomas and Mass have incredible comedic timing and care for their characters. It was joyful to watch their relationship; their delivery and physicality brought on laughter from the audience, even when the action wasn’t laughable. They truly brought the absurdity of the text to the forefront. 

The ideas of the show felt heavy-handed. Perhaps the downfall was just how much Thigh Gap wanted to say but didn’t have time to. Conflating eating disorders with an obsession with make-up with the loss of opinions felt simplistic and at times the writing dipped too far into cliché. The writer, Jamaica Zuanetti, is clearly an intelligent woman – some of the one-liners and general dialogue were hilariously apt – however, these are all big topics and stuffing them together into a play a little less than 90 minutes long does not serve them justice.

Thigh Gap reaches for the stars and just misses, but along the way there are laughs aplenty and one hell of a dance number.