Theatre

Bronagh's Big Weekend

Alan Hindle | Sunday 7 August, 2011 14:11

Image is of several ringleted lasses, as I couldn’t find any other suitable images for the show.

There are Fringe shows that try to out-shock one another, or tackle huge, catastrophic issues… Well, not so many this year. But simple, clear, pure storytelling is a lot more difficult. Bronagh’s Big Weekend, from Domestic Goddi Theatre’s Helen O’Brien, is a time capsule of life in small town Ireland, 1987. Starting with a brief lecture and display of ‘heavy’ dancing, one of  a multitude of Celtic dance styles that ignoramuses like myself know only as armless ‘Hornpipe’ dancing, O’Brien tells the tale of young Bronagh, a 13-year-old girl competing in the regional dance championships on the day her brother (cousin?) Sean is getting married. Booze, puke, fist-fights, and the police all come into play (Sigh. Ireland. Bless.) At the centre of it all is an awkward girl dreaming of snogging a boy, reinventing traditional Irish dance and someday joining Bucks Fizz. I enjoyed every moment of the play, from the moment Lick the Tins started playing as opening music (are they even still around?) to O’Brien telling us the show was over and she wasn’t going to dance any more. Actually, that last moment not so much. She could have kept going.

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