Review: Charolais

Semi-spurned woman v overly flirty cow, in this lusty and lonely tail

Charolais

Bewley’s Cafe Theatre

****

"The woman who invented the best way to kill an animal was a vegetarian." Writer and performer Noni Stapleton steps on stage, covered in blood and brandishing a large carving-knife, as she begins the tale of Siobhán, a young woman in rural Ireland overcome with jealously by the relationship between the man she loves and a Charolais heifer. Stapleton's hour-long monologue invites the audience into the lonely world of a young pregnant woman, desperate for the affection of the father of her child, while trying to avoid the negative scrutiny of her partner's mother.

READ MORE

In a comedic performance that jumps between a resentful, distressed woman and an overtly sexual French cow, Stapleton succeeds in drawing the audience into a world of desire, lust and intense loneliness. This is a fast-paced, witty, and intensely emotional tale filled with laughter, loss and despair.

Ends Friday

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak is an Irish Times reporter specialising in immigration issues and cohost of the In the News podcast