one4review | On 17, Aug 2025

n Dilly Dally, Mary O’Connell delivers a relatable and entertaining hour about figuring out adulthood in your twenties, especially when you feel like you’re not hitting the expected milestones.

She starts this hour by telling us about her sister getting married. Her younger sister, that is. From here, we are given an insight into her childhood and her family dynamic, with reflections about her happily married parents and the great responsibility of being an eldest daughter. At twenty nine years old, Mary still lives at home with her parents and now her boyfriend has moved in too. Alongside the reflections on not feeling like a proper adult in these circumstances, this offers a great comedic perspective on just how supportive Mary’s family are of each other, and how an outsider to this suddenly highlights the oddities they had all accepted as the standard. Her family are really the bedrock of the show and she illustrates their relationship so evocatively.

Unfortunately, on this particular  evening, Mary was competing with an incredibly loud and distracting airconditioning unit while also contending with quite a quiet and reticent crowd. She proved herself to be a skilled and confident performer in these circumstances, able to turn the rather antagonistic fan into a comedic format point and doing her best to engage the audience more. With these odds against her, Mary did a commendable job of delivering a well-crafted, funny show and she is undoubtedly a wonderful storyteller.

*** 1/2

Reviewed by Niamh

Attic, Pleasance Courtyard

19.15

Until 24th August