REVIEW: 10 First Dates by Christine Rose at Etcetera Theatre, part of the Women’s Writing Festival, March 2026
'fast-paced and funny' ★★★★
When Maggie’s (Laura Shipley Chico) husband ‘lost himself’ and they divorced after 25 years of marriage, she finds herself wondering about starting to date again and connect with someone in midlife. As she admits, the last time she went on a date, dial-up Internet was a thing. Not only has the Internet changed, but she realises that the dating world has radically altered, with ghosting, haunting, catfishing, and other terms and acronyms she barely knew or understood.
Shipley Chico gives a smart performance, breaking the fourth wall immediately and throughout, allowing the audience to empathise with her confusion, loneliness and desire to find someone to be with all the while she still longs for her ex-husband. Giving herself a challenge to meet ten people through Bumble, capping each date at about an hour, she meets Greg, Lance, Kyle, Adam, Victor, Theo, Derek, Miles, Nate, and Colin. Each of these characters are performed by the utterly brilliant Mark Parsons.
As quickly as Parsons changes costume, once in seconds, he takes on a different persona with mannerisms and accents to boot. He does have great material to work with as the dialogue is clever and current. Ranging in age from 45 to 54, he plays every type of man on the market, from the intelligent and caring to the deceptive and manipulative, and even more dangerous. There is the man who multi-tasks by having the date in an IKEA to the man who can’t stop taking selfies, the one who “speaks geek”, and the one who outsources his romantic notions to AI. There are the ones who are smooth talkers, the silent ones, and the ones who are genuine but not so compatible. Such vivid portrayals, all!
This piece is fast-paced and funny, and gives a nod to some more serious themes, such as misogyny, sexual assault, self-worth, and the struggle to connect with others in our modern age. The ending leaves some uncertainty but with slight hope for Maggie's love life, though the final monologue feels slightly flat after such an exciting ride through ten eventful encounters. Nevertheless, Maggie’s magnificent journey does make you think about how much people really do want to connect with other people, and the modern-day challenges people find instead.
Written by Christine Rose
Performed by Laura Shipler Chico, Mark Parsons
Directed by Jamie Saul
Produced by Gooper Dust Productions
