St Patrick’s Day in London can often be a disappointment; despite a pub on every corner offering green-themed fancy dress, we’re not in Ireland, and many celebrations can lack a sense of authenticity. The St James’s Theatre Studio, however, executed their nod to the special day perfectly with Bronagh’s Big Weekend, the first solo show from Helen O’Brien. As a previous Funny Women Awards finalist with comedy duo Domestic Goddi, some might have wondered whether she would be as confident in holding a stage by herself for an hour. They needn’t have worried – the show was a delight, leaving me in the St Paddy’s Day spirit from the get-go despite the choice of a pre-show G&T over a Guinness.
The show is told from the perspective of Bronagh Quinn, a teenage girl growing up in Oldham in a big Irish family, and takes us back to 1987 to join her for a particularly eventful weekend. It begins with her thirteenth birthday (complete with candle in a boiled egg), and follows her through a disastrous family wedding and onto the long-awaited Irish dancing championship, marred slightly by the arrival of our protagonist’s first period (a situation articulated wonderfully by Bronagh’s mother, who sympathises with a simple “isn’t Mother Nature a bitch?”)
An hour-long show – punctuated throughout with Irish dancing – can have been no mean feat for O’Brien. Despite this, the energy never waned; she created a seamless show that took us all the way through the weekend’s events, told as a series of scenes which would have worked just as well as stand-alone pieces but created a gradually unfolding story.
Whilst the story stayed in the perspective of Bronagh, O’Brien touched on other characters too – her characterization of Bronagh’s Irish father was a personal highlight. Her gift for storytelling and creating characters through physicality and voice was more than apparent, but keeping the piece’s solely on the perspective of her protagonist was the right creative choice. The teenage Bronagh’s awkwardness and sweetness was conveyed beautifully, leaving the audience captivated throughout – in turns laughing and inwardly cringing at teenage memories gone by.
Although it would be easy to simply focus on O’Brien’s performance, Bronagh’s Big Weekend was also a delight to watch as a writer. The script was perfectly paced, balancing the line between humour and pathos with intelligence and warmth. Although it had lyrical, storytelling quality throughout, this did not prevent the show holding its own as a comedy – rather, it was a valuable demonstration of how doable it is to keep an audience laughing without relying on needless punchlines or cheap laughs. The real comedy here was the amount of self-recognition; there is, after all, a lot of humour – and sadness – that comes with the territory of growing up. It’s clear from Bronagh’s Big Weekend that Helen O’Brien understands this, and that’s why she’s nailed such a successful and well-executed production as both a writer and actress.
Isabel Dixon
@isabel_dixon
Pictured: Helen O'Brien
