Paradise Now!

'It doesn't happen all the time. That you really connect with someone. It's rare to meet someone like you.'

Gabriel Dolan's never been up to much. That's what everyone says. Until she meets Alex, a young, ambitious woman who sells essential oils for a multi-level marketing company called Paradise – and overnight, Gabriel is drawn into a bright, new, floral-scented world.

In Paradise, you're your own boss. In Paradise, you could make a fortune. Embraced by a new community of women just like her, Gabriel rises through the ranks of the company like a shooting star. But when she gets to the top, it doesn't quite feel like she thought it would.

Margaret Perry's Paradise Now! is a funny and raging play about ambition, exploitation and the search for connection in a fractured world. It was first performed by an all-female cast at the Bush Theatre, London, in December 2022, directed by Jaz Woodcock-Stewart.

'A clever satire of modern feminism that might well be the best new play of the year... skewers the Instagram generation's obsession with authenticity as a substitute for female power... Like a Top Girls for today's "self empowerment" generation... strange, lovely and fresh as paint... Perry blends her satirical nous with an offbeat naturalism flecked with moments of startling surreal humour'

'A dark and unusual comedy... hilarious... a blast'

'A sharply funny look at female friendships and the lure of success... Smart, funny, and heart-bruising... Perry delves into female friendships, desperate ambition, exploitation, loneliness and grief with a deft touch... She has a nimble way with dialogue and a beguiling line in humour'

'Hugely enjoyable and endlessly watchable... Perry has a knack for writing dialogue that sounds organic in each of her very different characters' mouths... And it is truly hysterical, too. It had me in stitches'

'A sharp satire of girlboss extremes... darkly comical and often moving... an arresting assessment of feminism in the social media age'

'Dynamic and brilliant... a modern classic'

'A joy... even the most heartbreaking moments are riddled with Perry's wry jokes and whip-sharp commentary on life... Go, go twice, go again. You'll have no regrets'

Margaret Perry is a playwright from Cork, living in London. Her plays include: Paradise Now! (Bush Theatre, 2022); Collapsible (VAULT Festival, London, & Assembly, Edinburgh, 2019); and Porcelain (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 2018, and adapted for BBC Radio 4).

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