Rosie O’Donnell has been talking for some time now – 10 minutes, maybe more; I’m too wrapped up in her story to be sure- when she suddenly stops her monologue, looks up at the audience and tells us, “there will be some jokes, I promise.”
The Hollywood star and talk show host accepts that some of us might have been worried about the lack of them so far. She has come on stage and started describing at length the day her mother died in 1973 when O’Donnell was still just a kid. Understandably, it doesn’t offer many opportunities for punchlines.
But, O’Donnell wants to reassure us this is not her own version of “Angela’s Ashes”. What it might be, though, is a surprise for anyone who has come expecting a stand-up show. Instead, O’Donnell has decided to tell her life story for her Fringe debut. Or parts of it at least; in particular childhood, becoming an adoptive mum to four kids herself, and then, when they had all mostly grown up and O’Donnell was entering her fifties, adopting an autistic non-binary child.
She also discusses her recent decision to relocate from the United States to Ireland in the wake of the re-election of her bete noir, President Trump. Trump has notoriously threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s American citizenship. Inevitably, he gets a few mentions here. (It’s already clear Trump is going to be one of the key themes of the Fringe in 2025.) But he is not the core of this show.
The key narrative here is about O’Donnell’s relationship with Clay, her 12-year-old. It’s a mother’s fond tribute to her child.
And, yes, there are jokes and funny stories. But what this show offers principally is a big emotional arc.
In short, it’s a show that majors in an attribute that one might not associate with the Fringe, sincerity. You could say it’s very American in its approach and outlook. There’s no cynicism here. No self-deprecation. O’Donnell even plays Robbie Williams’ Angels at the end.
The audience I saw it with clearly found this refreshing and gave her a standing ovation. Others may find it a tad saccharine. What is undeniable is it comes from the heart.
Rosie O’Donnell: Common Knowledge, 20.45, Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, until August 10
