Review: MISS I-DOLL at The Other Palace

 

Photo credit: Mariano Gobbi

Date: 22nd February 2025 

Seat: Unallocated

Stars: 3

We all know reality TV is fake, right? The sob stories, the rigged votes, the contestant who just happens to forget their lyrics at the most dramatic moment – it’s all carefully curated chaos. But what if, in the middle of all that, someone snapped? What if a contestant broke through the illusion, turned to the cameras, and told the audience exactly how much of a scam it all is? 

That’s Miss I-Doll. 

Written by Tobia Rossi and Oliver Lidert and directed by Ruthie Stephens, this new musical at The Other Palace takes the glossy, auto-tuned world of X Factor and splices it with Squid Game levels of absurdity. Contestants are pitted against each other in increasingly bizarre challenges, all under the watchful eye of “Big Sis,” a disembodied, omnipotent host voiced with eerie cheerfulness by Natalie Casey. It’s camp, it’s chaotic, and it’s utterly unhinged. 

Anchoring all this madness is the ridiculously talented Daisy Steere, who doesn’t just play the main contestant, Mia – she morphs into a whole cast of hopefuls, judges, and showbiz stereotypes. And she does it fast. One moment she’s a wide-eyed ingenue, the next she’s a cutthroat diva, then a clueless rich kid who’s only here because Daddy’s bankrolling it. It’s a shape-shifting masterclass in comedy and character work. 

Photo credit: Mariano Gobbi

Then, something clicks. Mia – our plucky underdog – takes a tumble, knocks her head, and suddenly sees through the madness. Instead of playing along, she starts calling out the show for what it is: scripted, soulless, a carefully controlled machine designed to squeeze every last tear, gasp, and social media trend from its contestants. 

And that’s when the fun really starts. 

Once the illusion is shattered, the show descends into delicious chaos. The audience, still laughing, starts to feel a creeping unease, because the more ridiculous it gets, the more it starts to feel… real. Big Sis, once a comforting voice of encouragement, takes on a more sinister edge. The “game” becomes more brutal. The sparkle of the talent show glitz starts to look more like a prison. 

And yet, it’s so much fun. 

Miss I-Doll knows exactly what it’s doing. It cranks everything up to 100 – the comedy, the satire, the sheer ridiculousness – until you can’t help but get swept along. The songs by Simone Manfredini? Sharp, punchy, and perfectly placed. The lighting by Alistair Lindsay? Bright, brash, and exactly the kind of overstimulating nightmare that Saturday night talent shows have perfected. 

Photo credit: Mariano Gobbi

Is Miss I-Doll flawless? No. It runs at breakneck speed, barely giving the audience time to breathe, and at times the relentless energy can feel overwhelming. But that’s part of its charm. It’s like watching a talent show implode in real-time – glorious, messy, and completely impossible to look away from. 

And Daisy Steere? She’s electric. The kind of performer who can have an audience in fits of laughter one second and completely enthralled the next. Whether she’s delivering sharp comedy or jumping between personas at record speed, she’s magnetic to watch.

Miss I-Doll is at the Other Palace until 9^th March, and tickets are available here: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/miss-i-doll/.