We asked Mary Kennedy, the ‘New Fiona’ of Shameless, about that role and her new show at the Fringe, Hail Mary, None of the Grace, which contains some surprising material.
I try to raise my kids not to feel guilty about everything – a little healthy guilt is fine, but living your life guilty is not living
Your show opens at your mother’s funeral – not the usual place for a comedy to start. What made that moment the right launchpad for this midlife coming-of-age story?
My mother was one of the funniest people I’ve ever known, so it felt fitting. She was 66 when she died and I was 42, with two young kids. My father had died about 10 years earlier, so at that moment I was alone in midlife. But because of my mother’s terminal illness, and travelling back and forth from LA to Boston, there was a sense of relief. At her funeral I realised it was time for me to live my life. I’ve always lived my life comically, even in tragedy.
You describe growing up Irish Catholic in Boston with “all of the tragedy, none of the money”. How has that shaped both your comedy and your relationship with grace (or lack thereof)?
Every good comedian comes from tragedy. I’m third cousins, twice removed, with the Kennedy family, and my Kennedy family dealt with the same tragedy – just without the money. This has really shaped my comedy. It’s made me relatable, and I realised very early on that comedy naturally comes out of tragedy. That’s what has helped me survive.
Hail Mary, None of the Grace dives into inherited guilt, motherhood and finally living life for yourself. What’s the most surprising reaction you’ve had from audiences so far?
Edinburgh will be the world premiere! But in our workshops of the piece, audiences were very surprised by how I weave the dramatic, the poignant and the comedy together.
You’re best known as ‘New Fiona’ on Shameless. How does stepping into your own story on stage compare to playing someone else’s chaotic daughter on screen?
I love the term “chaotic daughter”! Anyone who’s raised a teenager understands this. I apologise to my mother up in heaven every day. Playing New Fiona was by far my biggest break as of late. I almost fit into the Gallagher family too much – I understood the family dynamic in Shameless and was able to really embrace the role.
William H Macy (Frank Gallagher) made me feel like family from day one. Playing characters in a one-person show – from yourself (the narrator) to the other characters in the piece – can feel chaotic, but it’s a fantastic challenge for a character actress like me. It stretches you, and you use every piece of training and performance memory. The character I see must be portrayed to the audience in a believable way, and the way my character (me) interacts with these characters has to be organic. It’s a conversation, and the audience should see these fully realised characters.
There’s a line about not passing inherited guilt on to your kids. How do you walk the line between deeply personal reflection and making people laugh out loud?
Guilt, ha! It’s in my DNA. They probably got some of that in the womb. I really try to honour those who’ve gone before us. Parenting is never perfect and my parents truly did the best they could. With a backdrop of Catholic guilt, sometimes I’m automatically guilty over something and I have to talk myself out of it. I’ve really tried to raise my kids not to feel guilty about everything. A little healthy guilt is fine, but living your life guilty is not living.
This is your Edinburgh Fringe debut. What drew you to bring Hail Mary, None of the Grace across the Atlantic, and what do you hope UK audiences take from it?
I toured with my other one-person show Mid Life Mood Swing, directed by Charlene Ward, for over two years. That show debuted at Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest in 2023 and, in 2024, I performed it again at Solofest and won the Encore Award. I spent two years doing that show across the US, including a one-nighter off-Broadway and in Canada. I was so moved by the response everywhere I went – especially in Canada – that I felt I really needed to tour internationally.
That’s where Edinburgh Fringe comes in. Audiences, and my director and I, wanted a sequel to Mid Life Mood Swing, and Hail Mary, None of the Grace was born. I knew this was the right piece to bring to Edinburgh – it really explores my Irish lineage and Catholic upbringing, and I thought that would resonate in the UK. My director, Charlene Ward, is also of Irish descent, so it’s been great to work on this new piece with an international audience in mind.
