Nature may abhor a vacuum, but boys, suck it up, the way to a woman’s heart is to Hoover.
In HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN, a recently retrenched female worker, Gina, fired not for shoddy aptitude or attitude, but seemingly traded in for a younger model, embraces a cheeky business opportunity converting a team of well-built male furniture removalists into hunky house cleaners.
Initially the response from her female ocean-swimming community is immediate, and her all-male cleaning staff an instant hit. Blokes with brooms, spunks with sponges, men with mops prove a satisfying aesthete to her girl friends. But it transpires her clientele demands something more – cock and feather duster, a full domestic service, a neat and tidy intimacy.
HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN is a ribald, raunchy comedy about the serious business of pleasure, female agency, of stepping out of the sidelines and taking control of a life that has been rendered invisible by a dominant male culture.
It’s a finely tuned laugh at libido, a roundabout rom-com, precarious and hilarious, with a sparkling cast set in the fantastically photogenic Fremantle.
Sally Phillips plays Gina, perfectly portraying the highs and lows, the joys and struggles of embarking on a new endeavour, whilst trying valiantly to salvage a moribund marriage.
Erik Thomson is excellent as Steve, the emotionally marooned removalist who becomes Gina’s bewildered manager. Cameron Daddo is equally impressive as Gina’s romantically retarded spouse.
Alexander England, Ryan Johnson and Josh Thomson are terrific as the trio of brawn stars and Tasma Walton, Caroline Brazier, Hayley McElhinney are simply splendid as Gina’s supportive sea swimming sisters.
From Feisty Dame productions, Written and Directed by Renée Webster, HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN pricks patriarchal supremism, punctures patronising practices, and shrivels chauvinism in a most delightful way.
