Mad Woman

‘Mad Woman’?  Should it be ‘Sad Woman’? 

Rosaleen Cox plays her creation ‘Niamh’, a young Irish woman who, after a break-up with long-time boyfriend Pat, decides she’ll get as far away from him as she can.  She picks Melbourne.  After all, she can design spoons (spoons?) – that’s her job – anywhere.  (Selling them is a different matter.)  In Melbourne, she finds herself utterly alone.  Her BFF in Ireland stops taking her calls, but she does find a therapist whom the friend has recommended, and she launches into a relentless series of sexual encounters via internet dating sites.

Cox takes the standard stand-up trope of self-deprecation to new depths.  Niamh may be funny, ‘feisty’, foul-mouthed, and aggressive, but her self-esteem is zero.  In fact, I wonder if Cox is aware of just how bleak and black her show is.

Typical of 20-somethings, Niamh is ashamed – or just embarrassed - about her less-than-perfect body – fat jokes recur.  Her stories are funny, sure, and there are a lot of laughs – many of the wince making variety – and there are pop culture references, puns, and character comedy.  But underneath is a subtext of a lonely, guilty, mournful, even self-destructive woman. 

The character Niamh herself would absolutely, vehemently deny it, but there’s an underlying strain of self-hatred – which turns out to make sense.  Cox conveys that cleverly and subtly throughout – often through mere pacing and pauses - hinting at it under the stream of jokes, her manic delivery, and the frantic pace.  She is a skilful performer who connects and plays with the audience so well.

There are some pre-recorded voices, but mostly Cox plays the characters whom Niamh meets with economic, sharp comedy.  There’s the rather snooty therapist, sessions with whom are a dead end since the last thing Niamh wants to do is delve into her past – especially about her mother (who also sounds rather snooty) abandoning her when she was fourteen. (Is that a rather standard reason for self-hatred?)  Funnier are the sharply observed sex partners she meets along the way – a range of Aussie blokes, some not all that bad. But Niamh appears to get no satisfaction – let alone pleasure – from all these one-night stands, so, yes, we’re laughing, but we can only infer a kind of driven masochism. Talk about light and shade!

A filmed version of Mad Woman proved popular online in Fringe 2020. Now live on stage, Cox has expanded the show, adding new characters.  My guess is it touches a nerve, especially with young women (c.f. Fleabag). I saw the show on its second night and the venue was packed, mostly with women. 

Michael Brindley