Dublin Fringe Festival 2026: Mercurial

Mercurial by Rosaleen Cox. Image Julia Salkin

****

It could be a sexual role-play. It could be a Tinder date. It could be a Tinder sexual role-play date. Whatever it is, this one-night stand looks like it’s been stood up. Two anxious people arguing about sex whilst not actually having any. Meanwhile, an apocalyptic din regularly crashes from outside the bedroom. In Rosaleen Cox's sexually charged Mercurial, the charge might be weak, but a flurry of comic complications proves utterly irresistible. Cox's battle of the sexes, or battle for sex, a comic collision of relational opposites. Cox, both writer and performer, striving for the best of both worlds and delivering. A talent so vibrant and versatile it shows all the hallmarks of a superstar in the making.

A mismatch made in hell or do opposites truly attract? Are they even using their real names? As juxtapositions go, Cox’s pair make for the perfect couple. When it comes to sex, both are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. She swears by the freedom of being single, he promotes the joys of relationship and intimacy. She likes a little bit of rough to bring on the wonder stuff, he's more into roughage so his bowels remain regular. Her body count is 57, his is between 5 and 7. A brilliant misunderstanding three-quarters of the way through sees comedy taking on shades of drama. In which sex games give way to what's real, which might prove to be the greatest sex game of all.

With its flying sparks more Ross and Rachel than 9½ Weeks, Cox's orgy for two is built on a divine misunderstanding, alpha-versus-beta tendencies, and a cringe-worthy need to be sexual. Cox's supple script, padded with cinematic references, more a stretched-out sketch than a full-fledged play. It's merciless killer joke, you'll know it when you hear it, confirming the truth. Oisín Kearney's perfectly paced direction unpacking nuance and depth that informs and enriches, highlighting a woman looking for a man to have fun with rather than a boy to take care of. A boy who likes his women faithful and exclusive. Detailed performances from Desmond Eastwood and Cox vibrating with joy. Eastwood having the harder task of being straight support to Cox's sexually adventurous woman. A woman who wants a man to tug her hair at just the right time and in just the right way instead of combing it. Eastwood exceptional at asserting his presence whilst supporting Cox's stunning comic performance. Cox's jittery, energised portrayal one part Yellowstone's commanding Beth, one part painfully unsure of who and what she truly wants. All parts magnificently irresistible.

A lightweight, sexual comedy more sketch than play, yet with more going on than at first appears, Mercurial's snappy dialogue and chemistry-infused performances prove divinely enjoyable. Yet if Mercurial is terrific, Cox is a revelation. So shamelessly talented she might well be the next big thing.

Mercurial by Rosaleen Cox, presented by Rosealeen Cox, Serpentine Productions & 19th Street Productions, runs as part of Dublin Fringe Festival 2026 at Smock Alley Theatre till Sept 11.

For more information visit Dublin Fringe Festival 2026