Sally Denver Matthews – Smock Alley – First Fortnight Festival – Review

First Fortnight Festival 2019
Run is now finished – ended January 5th – Main Space

We meet Sally looking a little worse for wear. She’s unkempt to say the least with black rings under her eyes from lack of sleep. She is a typical new mother struggling to get by. Her daughter Heidi is waking every few hours and a full night’s sleep is only a distant memory. Her husband Stephen does not seem to understand. Any time he takes Heidi she sleeps the full night! This is Sally’s tale of modern motherhood and the many stresses it involves!

One of the most unusual aspects of this production is the age range of the audience! The show is aimed at new mothers, so there are a number of babies in the crowd which adds an air of unpredictability to proceedings as they dart on stage to join the performer or simply test their lungs with various shouts and screams!

This is a one woman show, written and starring Gilly O’Shea, focusing on the problems facing new mothers. Gilly has minimal props on stage but does use slides to illustrate the ideas running through Sally’s head! One of the many unusual aspects is how many of these problems are self inflicted, due to her constant worries about her new born. She obsesses about how advanced her child is in comparison to the other kids around her and worries if her child is keeping up! She wants to get back to work but worries about leaving Heidi in day care. The gags are gentle in nature, and the production gives a good insight into a young Irish woman facing motherhood for the first time.

Written and performed by Gilly O Shea.

Running time : 55 mins