Connemarvellous

Bláthnaid Daly in Connemarvellous. Image uncredited.

***

There's likely three responses to Bláthnaid Daly’s English-Irish hybrid Connemarvellous. For those fluent as Gaeilge it’s a stroll down Ghaeltacht lane. For those with a smidgen of the native tongue, they can brag of how much more Irish they knew than they knew they knew. Daly’s clever sentence structures, frequently replacing key English words with their Irish equivalent, educating and flattering in equal measure. For those with little understanding of Irish, it’s easy to engage with Daly’s twee, bi-lingual, simple narrative painted in broad, stereotypical strokes. Dominated by a forceful presence, commanding the stage like a cranked up Deirdre O’Kane. Even if Daly hasn’t quite got the comic material to match just yet.

Narratively, Connemarvellous serves up a tame version of the ready made play. The one person monologue of living your second best life, often in a rural setting, where quirky people and experiences facilitate the discovery of your very best self. Like petulant, seventeen year old Niamh. A Westmeath moan capable of giving paracetamol a headache. Trapped for three weeks in the Ghaeltacht learning Irish whilst her parents escape to the south of France without her; three minutes with Niamh’s perpetual victimhood and it’s easy to understand why they packed her off to Connemara. Where Niamh abandons her phone, English, and all hope of visiting Lahinch with the girls as she engages in combat with a rival boy from home. Throw in a girls GAA team, the swoon worthy Conor, and a K-Pop Talent Show Routine and we’re ceart go leor for some good, clean Ghaeltacht shenanigans.

Bláthnaid Daly in Connemarvellous. Image uncredited.

Trading in tropes, Daly’s D4 girls and brain-light jocks are pitched at Ireland's Own, Daniel O'Donnell level of good, clean fun. Jodie Doyle’s kindergarten set and costumes reinforcing a sense of a day out at a local community hall, assisted by Sophie Cassidy's sympathetic lights and Lara Gallagher's punctuating sounds. With backstory often hinted at rather than explored, much is left undeveloped, leaving its wet crotch, brown stained juvenilia insufficiently robust to support the plays implied weight or comic potential. Why Niamh is as she is, like her relationship with her ex, or her girlfriends, is never quite clear. But much is forgiven by Daly, exuding a commanding presence and vocal prowess riveting to watch. Director Gene Rooney, offering a steadying hand, guides everything along gently. Connemarvellous’ imaginative fusion of Irish and English, along with Daly’s invested performance serving up an enjoyable oíche out on the town.

Connemarvellous, written and performed by Bláthnaid Daly, runs at The New Theatre until April 10.

Tuar Ard, Moate, April 24

Town Hall Studio, Galway Theatre Festival, May 5.

For more information visit The New Theatre