DYKE Systems Ltd at Unity Theatre

Fag Packet’s DYKE Systems Ltd, coming to Liverpool’s Unity Theatre this November, transports its audience back to the 1990s, an era of big business, corporate ambition and no shortage of dubious get-rich-quick schemes.

Written and performed by Kheski Kobler and Holly Wilson-Guy, the show follows Sally and Susan, two suburban American businesswomen with big ambitions and a questionable business proposition. The action takes place at a corporate seminar where the audience are the delegates, ready to be recruited as the new generation of ‘Dynamic Young Knowledgeable Entrepreneurs’.

Over the next hour, expect an entertaining blend of physical comedy, queer cabaret and a series of awkward interactions, as Sally and Susan attempt to convince everyone that their business venture is the answer to life’s problems. Behind the power suits and carefully rehearsed smiles, however, things aren’t quite as they seem. Corporate corruption, personal secrets and unspoken desires threaten to derail the whole enterprise.

It’s a wonderfully ridiculous premise, but there’s plenty going on beneath the comedy. Fag Packet use the absurdities of corporate culture to explore capitalism, conformity and the expectations placed on women.

Following a successful Edinburgh Fringe debut, where they were selected among The Stage‘s five breakout theatre-makers, Fag Packet bring their anarchic mix of comedy and physical theatre to Liverpool. With shades of Dallas, Dynasty and perhaps even Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, it’s a reminder that the promises of corporate success, particularly for women, have always come with a few strings attached.