Angela has just parted company with her husband Max or round head as she calls him. After many years of marriage Max has moved on and found new love in the arms of the 25 year old Mexican Rosa. Angela’s daughter then drops another bombshell and moves in with her drummer boyfriend. At first it feels like her whole world has fallen apart. She has moved from a Wife and Mother to a woman living on her own in a few short months. She is now a woman  in her mid forties with a dog, a big house and far too much time on her hands. She must decide what to do with her life and figure out how to be happy living on her own!

This is a one woman show starring Tara Flynn. Tara is a member of the Nualas and has also appeared on TV in such comedy shows as the Mario Rosenstock Show and Irish Pictorial Weekly. She is an old hand at comedy and has performed many times in stand up, and this often has the feel of stand up, as opposed to theatre. The first thing Tara did when she arrived on stage last night was introduce herself to the audience. She also chatted to the person whose mobile phone went off without missing a beat. Nothing was going to phase her on this occasion.

The story itself has many good lines and features Angela’s return to the dating scene, where she meets a tiny man that looks more like a ventriloquist dummy and another who spends his whole night name dropping the various celebrities he knows. It’s not easy to find her perfect man, the one who wears an Aran jumper and knows instinctively her every desire, but she keeps looking. It features her calls to the People Experiencing Suicidal Tendencies (PEST) help line, which are surprisingly jolly, and her attempts to pull Christmas crackers on her own (the secret is you jam one end in the door).

The performance was slow to start, but came to life after the interval and was a pleasant escapade, very much in the world of Shirley Valentine. It’s a story of an older woman trying to find her feet after a period of much change and attracted a largely female audience who enjoyed this light hearted tale.

Performed by Tara Flynn

Written by Geraldine Aron
Directed by Andrew Murray

My Brilliant Divorce runs at the Civic Theatre Tallaght until July 5th 2014.