On the first of April George McEncroe was sacked from her role as a breakfast radio host on Mix FM. She thought it was an April Fool’s joke. It wasn’t. But McEncroe doesn’t let it get her down – in fact she uses it to open her show – likening the experience to being dumped by a boy you didn’t really like anyway.
This is a seriously funny show. McEncroe draws on her upbringing with a Jekyll and Hyde father, a mother with one ear glued to the track results and four siblings who’ll do anything for attention. McEncroe is a beautiful storyteller, drawing us in to her family life, and expertly leaving the reveal to just the right moment for the best comic effect.
McEncroe takes us on an evocative journey of life in the madcap McEncroe family. She weaves in candid observations of her mother’s frustration with her lot in life with hilarious anecdotes about driving with a grumpy father who thinks even the red lights have it out for him.
There are many, many laughs in this show but there’s also pathos and honesty in spades. I don’t want to ruin the punch lines and there are too many to repeat here but anyone who can turn a near-death experience into a play on the midwives’ names deserves some accolades.
This is McEncroe’s first foray into the Melbourne Comedy Festival but it certainly doesn’t show. The hour flies by and at the end we were left laughing and eager for more. And if you’ve ever had to endure a home mass you’ll really love it.
For more info and booking details go to George McEncroe in The Georgina Monologues