OCD Me – The New Theatre – Review
by Brian Merriman

Until Saturday, June 3 at 7.30pm matinee Saturday 2.30pm
Written and Directed by Aisling Smith
Starring Laura Whelan
Duration 55 minutes.

Aisling Smith has done a service in writing a detailed, yet accessible explanation of being OCD.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real struggle for ‘Sarah’ (Whelan) and she unpacks incidents and episodes that bring us close to the burden and dilemma of understanding.

Smith tells us everything we should know about OCD. It is open, honest and specific both in its definitions and examples of behaviour and in the experiences shared, which can be obsessive or compulsive or both.

What remains unresolved is the location of the piece. Are we at a talk, if so, why is it staged with lighting and sound cues? Are we in a play, then there is more scope to create a character(s) and a setting?

Storytelling theatre is increasingly visible in scaled-back productions and here, we get quite a storyteller with Laura Whelan as ‘Sarah’.

Smith tells us she wasn’t prepared to perform the show, so she went looking for an actress. Her search led her to Whelan and in that she is very fortunate. Here, we have an actor with presence, excellent diction, and a charm that helps us resonate with the more technical elements of the explanations. Smith’s good direction compliments that skill set very well.

Whelan’s engaging presence and pace never falter as she guides us through the gamut of emotions, reasoning and episodes that make up the storyline. We learn a lot.

It is important to tell the stories of life experiences. Smith’s contribution to that is important in OCD Me. It is important to create theatre and Whelan’s acting and the direction does that for the piece.

I’m not convinced that structurally this maximises its theatrical opportunities, but the combination of Smith and Whelan in this production takes on that challenge with dedication and considerable skill.