NSFW

 TNT

As Lucy Kirkwood reminds us right at the end of her short, witty two-pronged attack on the magazine industry, women may have got the vote but they still have a tough fight ahead of them.

NSFW (ie “not safe for work” which refers to internet content one would rather not be caught watching) takes us first into the bloke-ish offices of Doghouse, a tits-and-teeth orientated weekly mag for young men. Here, bright graduate Charlotte (grateful to be in paid employment at last) has been sleeping with older editor Aidan and, ashamed of her real role, telling her women’s group that she’s an estate agent, and Sam’s unintentionally inappropriate choice for their “Local Lovely, 2012” is about to blow up in their faces.

Then it’s a quick switch to the sleek offices of upmarket woman’s magazine Electra where immaculate Miranda (Janie Dee) is intent on erasing every female imperfection before the next issue goes to print.

Simon Godwin’s swift production is very funny indeed, with Henry Lloyd-Hughes upper-class Rupert suffering all sorts of indignities to keep his media job, Sacha Dhawan’s decent Sam trying against the odds not to compromise his moral standards, and Julian Barratt’s deviously persuasive Aidan encouraging his staff to “really live in the spaces between the boobs, yeah?” whilst pouring monetary oil on troubled waters when legal action threatens.

Royal Court Theatre
Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS
Tube | Sloane Square
Until 24th November
£10 - £28royalcourttheatre.com