'How're yez?' Eilish O'Carroll greets her audience as she steps out to affectionate applause, dressed all in black under her blue sequinned jacket: part theatre luvvie, part salt of the earth Dubliner. The crowd was mostly middle-aged, with a couple of young people scattered around - most, presumably, are fans of the BBC sitcom Mrs Brown's Boys in which O'Carroll plays Winnie McGoogan. We're invited to sit back, relax and imagine she's popped the kettle on whilst listening to a warmly recounted tale of her life so far - it's a charming, cheeky and occasionally gasp-inducing older woman's take on life, sex and sexuality.
It begins at O'Carroll's infancy, during which in a house of ten children she was filed away in a desk drawer at night since the only cot was taken by her elder brother. Raised a Catholic by her progressive mother (Ireland's first elected female member of parliament) and a host of rather more fearsome sounding teachers, the adolescent O'Carroll struggled with her changing body and 'sinful' thoughts under a dogma of shame and repentance. Aged seven, she was called into confession and was so terrified that she wet the floor of the booth. Years later, she was riddled with guilt after an accidental orgasm on a shaky bus seat - all of this, of course, is delivered with mischievous humour and captivating storytelling.
For all its darker aspects - her first marriage was an abusive one and as a Catholic she struggled with her attraction to women in later life - it's generally a light-hearted hour and it does indeed feel like sitting in O'Carroll's kitchen to have a good old natter. Some revelations are genuinely hilarious - if you're likely to be offended by candid discussion of sexuality or frequent use of the word 'clitoris', you'll have to get over it, fast.
Some may find her life lessons a little drippy (‘live, laugh, love’ is, predictably, the advice we're given at the end) though it's always tempered with a knowing smile and backed up with a wealth of experience. For fans of O'Carroll and anyone who likes a compelling story with a bit of an edge, this is a refreshing afternoon with a hugely likeable performer.
