Powder Room

With an almost entirely female cast, this British comedy from debut director MJ Delaney is a rare find. Based on the stage play ‘When Women Wee’, it’s set in the toilets of a none-too-salubrious nightclub, where nice, insecure Sam (Sheridan Smith) is taking regular solace from a stressful night out with her old college friend Michelle (Kate Nash). Sam is keen to impress Michelle, who leads a sophisticated life in Paris – but with her three rowdy best mates also in the club, that’s not easy.

The set-up is inescapably theatrical, performances vary and several scenes just don’t convince. But the characters still offer wit and warmth. Smith puts in a sensitive, nuanced performance as Sam, a vaguely dissatisfied everywoman who sets a web of lies in motion. There’s a faint echo of Bridget Jones but her angst is never overplayed. Jaime Winstone puts in an enjoyably brash performance as her man-eating pal Chanel, while Riann Steele and Sarah Hoare share an amusing scene in which their characters indulge in MDMA. A frank and fitfully funny look at female friendship.