Dublin Fringe Festival 2025: Brambles

Chris O'Rourke
4 minutes ago
3 min read

****

Let's call it as it is. Brambles, by Cara Christie, is Hallmark Channel Theatre. A guilty, feel good pleasure as one sister’s keeper, her gormless boyfriend, and an autistic young woman learn to love, live and embrace all things Bram Stoker. Showing all the hallmarks, pun intended, of curling up cozy with a perfect cup of tea before a glowing fire, Christie’s twee tale is lightweight, funny, comforting and predictable. And I defy you not to adore it.

Its premise is straightforward. Claire, whose autism makes it difficult for her to navigate the world, gets a job in Dublin and decides to move in with her sister Holly and her boyfriend Glen. It would've been nice had Holly known Claire was coming with her mountain of boxes because Holly has a busy existence. But Glen is happy with their unexpected visitor. The gormless Dad in waiting having two real interests; mothers and children. Wanting Holly to become a mother to his child, he sees in Claire a child that needs minding with Holly filling the maternal void left after their mother's death. Which also created an emotional void with their father. And so it goes as Claire moves in, tries to navigate the workplace while Glen and Holly try to conceive. Their respective needs rubbing against each other and causing friction. The gentle kind. The kind that smooths away rough edges. Velvet gloved punches cushioned by irresistible charm.

*Cara Christie, Oliver Flitcroft and Aoife Cassidy in Brambles. Image, Carol Cummins*

If Christie's script leans structurally towards television, its light dialogue and small stakes generate a slow, percolating pace. Director Olivia Sanger compensating with as much theatricality as she can. Aided by Florentina’s set, suggesting the physical embodiment of Claire's compartmentalised and cluttered mind. Boxes upon boxes upon boxes endlessly rearranged throughout until achieving something resembling order. Conor McGowan's lights and Paul Donegan's sound unobtrusively adding to a sense of being overwhelmed. Yet it is three strong performances under Singer’s directorial touch that sets everything aglow. Beginning with Christie as the uber responsible Holly. Christie turning in a sensitive portrayal of a responsible sister struggling to hold it all together, urged to find completion by being whatever her family and boyfriend needs her to be. It is Hallmark Channel Theatre after all. Oliver Flitcroft's Glen, obsessed with his need for a child, injects what could have been a shallow device with compelling presence. Both playing supporting roles to a sensational Aoife Cassidy as the obstreperous Claire. Like with Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Cassidy’s portrayal of an autistic woman navigating a world that may not have a place for her is sensationally and sensitively fashioned. Skimming for comfort, overwhelmed by sounds, avoiding gazes or staring too long, monster mashing at all the wrong times and in all the wrong places yet deserately needing to belong; Cassidy's Claire is a crafted with stupendous care and detail.

If Claire’s strained relationship with Holly evokes the ghost of Rainman, ultimately Brambles is Claire's story. If its happily ever after feels contrived more than convincing, it suggests possibilities on how the struggle for autistic people engaging with the world might be better addressed. Granted, you have to know the nature of that struggle, and one of the delights of Brambles is its thoughtful exploration of how exhausting it is when the world doesn't know, and why you might not want it to know. If Brambles views the future more with hope than expectation, it’s a hope you want to buy into. For Christie’s Claire is utterly memorable and is beautifully rendered by Cassidy. Even her Dad level Dracula jokes brim with effortless charm. So bring a loved one. Bring your bride to be, and congratulations. Bring that ex you broke up with in Cork. So joyously heartwarming is Brambles, you might wonder why you ever broke up in the first place. Addressing autism with sensitivity and charm, Brambles is a genuine delight.