Niamh Denyer @ Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
Niamh Denyer's ponzi scheme-turned-comedy show Get Blessed! puts the fun back into funeral
Áine Reilly (Niamh Denyer's persona in Get Blessed!) is an officiant for a myriad of big-deal life events. As an audience member, you are a student to Reilly’s self-accredited funeral celebrant training course; a type of Pyramid Scheme that, given its content, is more morally ambiguous than the usual fare. This is highlighted brilliantly by Reilly’s proclivity in appreciating Ryanair’s very own add-on king Michael O’Leary, whom she displays a clear infatuation for. The outrageousness of the show’s premise is balanced with how genuinely akin to a dubiously organised seminar Denyer’s show feels: the content is wild, yet somehow, given the form the show is presented in and in Denyer’s delivery, you feel you should be taking notes, asking questions.
What’s notable here is that Denyer shines in the numerous moments of audience interaction – she is acerbic and assured in response to the questions she poses her ‘class’, and these repartees provide much of the show’s success: Denyer herself as the safe pair of comedic hands.
But it is this use of the audience, almost as a lean-to, that is of detriment to the show’s success at-large. The commitment to the seminar environment and audience interaction sees Denyer circle the attendance in its entirety no less than 3 times; coloured pens are involved, there is a rather confused moment featuring an audience member and a grazing platter, and every audience member is visited in some kind of comedic communion. All of this feels as if it is to serve as an exercise in filling the allotted time, and the expectation that you’re attending a comedy show is almost completely suspended.
It is in this regard that the show meanders, somewhat listlessly, throughout its duration. Denyer’s potential, however, is always bubbling under the surface. She’s a capable and naturally funny performer, always equipped with a cynical rejoinder, as to ensure that her satire is never less than evident, and that Reilly’s only belief system is incurring those financial add-ons.
Get Blessed!, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose (Coorie), until 27 Aug, 1pm, £10-11.50