Eilish O’Carroll: Live Love Laugh

• Michael Cox
• 20 August 2013

This article is from 2013.

A funny look at human drama from the Mrs Brown's Boys star

Fans of Mrs Brown’s Boys might go into Live Love Laugh expecting the shenanigans the hit TV programme has become known for – Elish O’Carroll’s Winnie McGoogan is the centre of some of the crudest and outrageous moments. So it’s actually a surprise in reporting that the production is nothing of the sort, coming across instead like a warm theatrical hug.

O’Carroll’s hour-long monologue is a confessional. She speaks rather frankly about her family life – being the youngest daughter in a rather large, unconventional family. She also speaks about her abusive religious training, guilt-ridden sexual awakening, motherhood, difficult marriages and her mid-life realisation of being a lesbian.

These themes could be treated heavy-handedly and be the stuff of modern tragedies, and there are moments from her life that certainly warrant such treatment, but O’Carroll rises above that; she cloaks everything with both honest insight and warm humour, allowing her to rise above it all. Her candid monologue indeed paints a life filled with love and laughter, and it is a pure joy to watch from start to finish.

Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until Aug 24 (not 14), 2.45pm, £13–17 (£11–£15).