Slay your corporate demons and team-bonding nightmares with The Retreat

Produced by pop star and actress Kate Nash, Rebekka Johnson and Anne Gregory star in variety show The Retreat, satirising a schmaltzy welcome event of entertainments at a ridiculous corporate retreat.

With a variety of guests appearing across the run - including Nash - regulars Johnson and Gregory talk us through this unique early-evening show.

The Retreat promises to be an absurd comedy narrative variety show like no other. Can you give us a taste of the outrageous content and unforgettable moments that audiences can expect?

We are playing delusional boss babes of a period panties company who have zero shame so our show will be unabashedly shameless. We will twerk in our hideous diaper-like underwear to W.A.P. - not because we're turned on, but because our menstrual undies don't absorb a damn thing, leaving us disgustingly wet. We will perform the entire show in these undies with turtlenecks tucked in because we are all business. We will howl to the blood moon to sync our periods with the audience... and all of it will be done for a full cringe effect.

Were there any real-life experiences or products that inspired this hilariously absurd fictional company?

Both of us have worked at corporations that take themselves WAY too seriously. I (Anne) have had to go on a corporate retreat for "team-building" and it was excruciating. Seriously, trust falls and motivational speakers trigger PTSD from that bleak, business-y time. I (Rebekka) used to work out at a faux feminist gym whose owner acted like she was saving the world, one workout at a time. We love to poke fun at these self-serious people putting them in their place anonymously from the stage!

Synchronised howling at the blood moon sounds like quite a unique team-building exercise. Did you have any real-life inspirations for this bonding ritual?

In fact, we kind of have. We are moms who live nearby each other in Los Angeles, so OF COURSE we have done full moon rituals with fellow moms. It's kind of just something you do in California... judge away. Yes, we have done tarot and are NOT ASHAMED.

We must address the elephant in the room (or rather, the hideous menstrual undies). How did you weave this unconventional element into The Retreat's fabric?

Period panty companies all market themselves as having "sleek" and "stylish" underwear. We thought it would be funny if a company sold the opposite of chic panties - terrible, diaper-like underwear for grown-ass women. We also love delusional people - they're hilarious when they're not infuriating - so we wanted these two delusional assholes (our characters Diana Corn and Silver Surfer) to think our undies are super cute, but they're obviously dumpy and unflattering.

When you slip into the skins of Diana Corn and Silver Surfer, what tickles your funny bones the most?

We both LOVE how confident these women are because they truly do not deserve to be so self-assured. They're idiots and they think they're "feminist disruptors". They're completely out of their minds, but think they're these girl bosses and it's a total joy to play characters with so little self-awareness. As for me (Rebekka) I get to play the daughter of billionaires and she's just such a twat that it's delightful to make fun of the rich. I (Anne) play the brains behind Men-ses and my voice, intensity and bad makeup are a nod to the scam artist and failed CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

If Diana Corn and Silver Surfer were to give TED talks, what topics would they cover?

She-E-0s and Holes - A TED talk performed while both of us receive colonics.

Macro-dosing and Generational Trauma - A TED talk done on an acid trip where we complain about being "elder" millennials and how we are jealous of Gen Z's taut skin.

Cults: Are They Really That Bad? - A TED talk in which we simultaneously start a cult and accidentally join at least three other cults.

Lastly, what mysterious concoctions did you mix in the comedy cauldron to birth the enigmatic duo of Diana Corn and Silver Surfer?

A dash of vocal fry mixed with a spoonful of facial filler and a nod to Goop. These characters are corporate shills with a new age vibe. They believe they are single-handedly changing the world - one ugly adult diaper at a time - but they're really just selfish assholes who want to get rich.