Hannah Reilly on making audiences ‘uncomfortable’ and whether sexy new play is 2026’s Fleabag

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Robinson, M. (2026, October 23). Hannah Reilly on making audiences ‘uncomfortable’ and whether sexy new play is 2026’s Fleabag. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/hannah-reilly-roleplay-sex-influencer-edinburgh-fringe-london-soho-theatre-b1301964.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-23 · by Martin Robinson

Quick Summary

Hannah Reilly, writer and star of the Edinburgh Festival breakout play "Roleplay," discusses her experience at the festival where billboards featuring herself mirrored scenes in the show. The play explores themes of sexual liberation versus self-abandonment through the story of Danni, a struggling podcaster who becomes an OnlyFans-style influencer to gain 100,000 followers and secure a life-changing deal. Reilly reflects on her journey from comedy writing to tackling uncomfortable topics in theater, comparing it to her earlier work on a sex and relationships podcast. She emphasizes the play's relevance to contemporary issues faced by young women but dismisses comparisons to hit shows like "Fleabag," instead focusing on creating a compelling theatrical experience.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-23, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Hannah Reilly's play "Roleplay" became a breakout hit at the Edinburgh Festival in 2026, drawing comparisons to the cultural phenomenon *Fleabag*. The play follows Danni, a struggling podcaster who reinvents herself as an OnlyFans-style influencer after being promised a life-changing deal if she can gain 100,000 new followers. Reilly, who grew up between Sydney and a farm in semi-rural Australia, says the experience of seeing billboards featuring her character was surreal, mirroring scenes from the play itself.

Reilly's work explores themes of sexual liberation versus self-abandonment, challenging audiences to confront uncomfortable truths. She credits her background in radio comedy for her comedic skills but notes that writing "Roleplay" taught her how to give people an uncomfortable experience rather than just making them laugh. The play has resonated with the cultural zeitgeist, earning Reilly comparisons to athletes at the Olympics due to its impact and visibility.

Written for “Hannah Reilly New Play Controversy” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 101127 · logged 2026-10-23

Story

📰 Hannah Reilly New Play Controversy
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
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Who wrote this

Martin Robinson
53 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In the play, her character Danni is broke and lured into joining a new streaming platform with the promise that, “if she can get 100,000 new followers and be this messy, unignorable voice for young women, they will offer her a life-changing deal.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Hannah Reilly on making audiences ‘uncomfortable’ and whether sexy new play is 2026’s Fleabag
🔮 Prince Harry's friend Whoopi Goldberg has predicted that he will 'peacefully reconcile' with his estranged brother Prince William.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Harry's friend Whoopi Goldberg believes prince will 'peacefully reconcile' with William and is genuine in his desire to repair rift with his family
🔮 Lipa will personally be interviewing Smith and another Smith, Zadie, on stage, along with the Canadian-Sudanese poet and musician Mustafa.
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2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Harry and Meghan's new life as 'private citizens': Sussexes will make first joint public appearance since moving back to UK with royal-style visit to three charities this week
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 53 articles by Martin Robinson →

Topics

Australia Edinburgh Olympics OnlyFans Sydney

Subjects

Fleabag ORG · 3× Reilly PERSON · 3× Edinburgh GPE · 2× Raygun PERSON · 2× Australia GPE · 1× Danni PERSON · 1× Hannah Reilly PERSON · 1× OnlyFans ORG · 1× Roleplay ORG · 1× Sydney GPE · 1×

Narrative

Such meta moments are always going to occur when you nail the cultural zeitgeist — in this case, Reilly’s play about a struggling podcaster who reinvents herself as an OnlyFans-style “slutfluencer” and which tackles “the line between sexual liberation and self-abandonment”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23
🔮 In the play, her character Danni is broke and lured into joining a new streaming platform with the promise that, “if she can get 100,000 new followers and be this messy, unignorable voice for young women, they will offer her a life-changing deal.
2026-10-23 · Evening Standard
Hannah Reilly on making audiences ‘uncomfortable’ and whether sexy new play is 2026’s Fleabag · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 1 hedged)

“Edinburgh was an out-of-body experience,” says Hannah Reilly, writer-star of the festival’s big breakout play, Roleplay. asserted
Reilly → say → play
“It was strange to be looking at billboards of myself, because in the play the character comes around a corner and sees a sexy billboard of themselves. asserted
character → look → themselves
Such meta moments are always going to occur when you nail the cultural zeitgeist — in this case, Reilly’s play about a struggling podcaster who reinvents herself as an OnlyFans-style “slutfluencer” and which tackles “the line between sexual liberation and self-abandonment”. asserted
which → go → liberation
Reilly grew up between Sydney and a farm in semi-rural Australia. asserted
Reilly → grow → Australia
I’m a split atom of them both. asserted
I → ’m → them
She started in radio, swiftly becoming a successful comedy writer and performer over there. asserted
She → start → radio
But Roleplay is her first play (she says at Edinburgh, “I felt like Raygun at the Olympics… don’t use that as your headline”) and came from some direct experience. asserted
I → say → experience
“Learning to give people an uncomfortable experience rather than just make them laugh has been really interesting” asserted
them → learn → experience
“I hosted a sex and relationships podcast in my early twenties, in my most chaotic era. asserted
I → host → era
Roleplay started as a sitcom and then became a stand-up show using a bunch of material from that time in my life. asserted
Roleplay → start → life
But then the zeitgeist made me want to take a darker and more realistic approach.” asserted
me → make → approach
In the play, her character Danni is broke and lured into joining a new streaming platform with the promise that, “if she can get 100,000 new followers and be this messy, unignorable voice for young women, they will offer her a life-changing deal. asserted
they → break → deal
Despite being a vanilla, monogamous, romantic dork, she takes the bait and builds up this powerful new sexual persona. asserted
she → take → persona
As she pursues content, she exploits people close to her and loses the thread of who she is. asserted
she → pursue → thread
It has some bad consequences.” asserted
It → have → consequences
You can see why this is going to be massive. asserted
this → see → ?
The story is immediate and the themes resonant — “the experience of being a young woman now, constantly navigating the power and powerlessness” — while Reilly is a compelling star. asserted
Reilly → navigate → power
“Learning to give people an uncomfortable experience rather than just make them laugh has been really interesting.” asserted
them → learn → experience
“I think there should be hefty fines for anyone who uses the phrase, ‘the next Fleabag’. asserted
who → think → phrase
Wait, you could combine the two for a headline: ‘Is this Raygun wannabe the next Fleabag?’ uncertain
wannabe → wait → headline
” So you’re not thinking about the Netflix deal? asserted
you → think → deal
“I would totally love it to be a TV series. asserted
it → love → ?
But right now I’m just focusing on making a great play.” asserted
I → focus → play
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