10/08/2025
Set on Eve in a city centre bar, ‘The Pornstar Martini Effect: A Bartender’s Guide to not K*lling Yourself at Christmas’ 😮💨throws us straight into the chaos: sticky counters, blaring Fairytale of New York, pornstar martinis shaken like a choreographed dance… 🍸💃🏾
Written & directed by Ella Kendrick, it’s a fierce, intimate two-hander drawn from lived experience in hospitality, with Zane Marsland (Kat) & Finnen McNiffe (Tom) trading shifts between banter, bartending & brutal truths…
Kendrick’s script nails the industry’s relentless grind — the misogyny brushed off as “just part of the job,” the bouncers who play both protector & accuser, the managers who quietly side with money over safety… 👎
There’s a smart, satisfying reversal when Tom is ogled & pawed by a hen party, forcing him to confront the same objectification Kat endures nightly. These moments land because they’re rooted in authenticity, aided by Lauren Dalboth’s slick sound & lighting design, which transforms the familiar bar setting into a pressure cooker… 😰
Where the play falters is in its character development. Early scenes set Tom up as a confident flirt — yet later reveal him as deeply awkward around women, culminating in a confession of fear & resentment that feels disconnected from what’s come before…↩️
Kat’s backstory, including a year-long absence from work due to her own mental health crisis, is mentioned so late & fleetingly it never resonates. The emotional beats that could bridge their shared experiences —threading the themes of gender politics, burnout & depression— are left unexplored. Thus, the final moments land less as a gut punch & more as an abrupt fade-out…😶🌫️
Still, .rnstarmartinieffect’s strengths are undeniable: tight pacing, vibrant atmos & palpable sense of lived . The choreography of a last drinks call is 🔥& the chemistry between the leads keeps you invested, even when the script stumbles…
Like the cocktail in its title, it’s sweet & sour, with a kick— but we miss that lingering aftertaste…🍒3/5
