Owen O'Neill: Struck by Lightning

This performance seemed doomed from the start. The venue was running late, so the audience queue was in perfect position to see a flustered, preoccupied-looking Owen O’Neill rushing about before the show started.  Already, the good-time atmosphere was being chipped away.

The show is about O’Neill’s experience of being struck by lightning. Whether or not the story is true, the events in the play come across as being much too far-fetched and so it is unrelatable. Unfortunately, it is not quite ‘out there’ enough to be an intentional joke, so it falls into a quite confusing place.

O'Neill's acting tends to be too quick, sharp, and rushed, and the pace gets tiring rather fast. The characters aren't particularly likeable, and there is absolutely zero attempt to connect with the audience, making it impossible to relate to the performer. There are some titters near the end, but most often the pauses left for laughter are filled with silent cringing. Everyone in the room knew it was over when he forgot his lines halfway through, and even his bow at the end looks dejected and defeated.

A bad night, no doubt, but I wonder how much better it gets.