Gráinne Maguire: Gráinne with a Fada

★★★
comedy review (edinburgh) | Read in About 1 minute
33332 large
121329 original
Published 22 Aug 2017

Two minutes into Gráinne Maguire's show and I'm feeling smug that I actually know how to pronounce Gráinne. I'm simultaneously aware that this isn't a skill. But, hey, as the founder of the Gráinne Appreciation Society, Maguire is a fun and charismatic advocate. Who wouldn't want to get on board?

What follows is a fun and snappy romp through a set of personal and political observations. If there's a through line it's Maguire's suspicion of shy people who don't power through the shyness and shine. It's a pretty loose through line, but gives her license to commit fully to routines. Where she excels is in delightful mixtures of registers. David Cameron is a "messy bitch"; she skewers the ernestness of Irish drama teachers who always want to set performances during the troubles.

It's not massively coherent, and Maguire confesses absolutely correctly to having a "nervous energy". This makes for a scatterbrain approach which works when her observations are on the money, but feels especially laboured at the points when they are not. Oh, and it's pronounced GRAW-NYA. That's my bit for the appreciation society done.