The first time I saw Mary O’Connell perform is cited in her show (sadly my presence is omitted from the story) Money Princess. It was at the 2019 Funny Women Awards heat, a competition she lost according to O’Connell. I’d like to say she didn’t lose, she simply didn’t go through to the next round and the following year she placed runner-up. But it’s indicative of how O’Connell’s mind works.
O’Connell’s is a very collected presence, she wants to talk about capitalism and her love/hate relationship with it. You have to engage with it, but what does it mean when sometimes you kind of love it, as part of your love/hate relationship? What’s the point of acknowledging all of capitalism’s little tricks if you still find yourself falling for them?
An incredibly astute comedian unlikely to ever get the stick-and-poke tattoos that mark the limbs of most of her contemporaries, O’Connell doesn’t understand why anyone would make life harder for themselves. Things other people would see as harmless frivolity she sees as creating needless obstacles.
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have an inner silly billy, which is kind of what this show is about, because being a silly billy means taking risks and this show is about the time O’Connell took a huge risk, in front of a lot of people. Did it pay off? You’ll have to see the show…
★★★★
Mary O’Connell: Money Princess is at the Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 3 at 18:00 until 27th August. For tickets click here!
