Writer and Director: Colm O’Regan
Depending on your location you may not yet have had the pleasure of a visit to The Mill Theatre in Dundrum, and if that’s the case consider this a recommendation to do so. From the moment you step through the door the staff are professional, friendly, and know exactly what they’re up to; a real treat of a space out on the sunny southside suburbs! But enough about the venue. With Climate Worrier Colm O’Regan performs an hour long comedy special focused on the environment and how we might confront the steadily increasing anxiety surrounding the topic.
O’Regan takes the stage to applause and is immediately a very affable presence, full of thanks for the appreciation. His commentary ranges from last summer’s heatwaves, to the joys of post pandemic Irish weddings; from Greta Thunberg to Ireland in the 80s; from the trials and joys of litter picking to his natural talent for being in his 40s. There are some seriously side splitting jokes in the set; one woman at the end of the aisle nearly fell off her seat. There’s some great delivery and timing from O’Regan, but primarily it’s the writing – he’s throwing out some truly hilarious observations about Irish people and the environment, it’s very well pitched. Particularly perfect is the use of a recording of an “activist” in the form of a man from down the country tearing into someone for trying to do some illegal dumping. Tears in the eyes stuff. On the other hand, there’s definitely some work to be done on the flow; at times it feels like he’s a little lost in the script, at others the environmental theme starts to fall to the wayside. However, it’s clear that O’Regan is not only passionate about his topic, he has also found a rich vein to mine, despite his own opinion that it can be hard to marry comedy and environmentalism.
With a little more polishing this is a set that could easily find its way on to a large comedy stage. Alongside the humour O’Regan also provides some solid advice on how to manage the sometimes insurmountable seeming issue of the climate crisis. He has a very hopeful outlook and a quiet rallying cry to bring activism into all of our everyday lives. Completely recommendable for the laugh factor, but also a much needed advocation for backing away from the abyss of environmental despair and just finding a nice thing to do about it in your own life! Definitely worth a watch.
Reviewed on May 11th 2023.