To feel totally seen and understood by an unknown Irish comedian is a brilliant feat that Louise O’Toole wonderfully accomplishes in her lyrically witty show: Auntie-Hero. The title is a play on the hit Taylor Swift song ‘Anti-Hero’, and Louise continues her Taylor references throughout the show, while also having a motif running throughout regarding what girls from southside Dublin used to get up to on a Friday night on the 46A bus…
Detailing the chronically single situation she has found herself in, Louise opens herself up to her audience members, drawing you in to the terrifying world of online dating which she herself has been a part of for twenty years. The absolute horror stories she shares are enough to send a shiver up your spine and make you consider consider running away from home to live in a hut in a remote forest with only yourself and birdsong for company. Honestly, that would probably be a preferred fate.
The show goes on to detail the experience of dating in today’s society with the concept of the direct message on Instagram and the apparent difficulty of having to explain this idea to women who have been off the dating market for years, are married, and have two children. Whilst explaining the difference between slipping and sliding into someone’s DMs, Louise employs a sense of physical comedy to emphasise how truly ridiculous the world of dating has become. It is enough to make you question what happened to meeting a partner in real life, in the flesh, through a genuine human connection, instead of having your ex-boss message you on LinkedIn for a hookup!
Further into the show, Louise discusses the value of being alone, grief over a lost family member, and how utterly useless many men appear to be at providing emotional comfort and support. To make an audience laugh about having to go to your mother’s funeral alone is truly not an easy task, but Louise breezed through the topic in a completely hilarious manner.
Ultimately, Auntie-Hero encompasses side-splitting, relatable wit about the treacherous terrors that is finding a partner in 2025, as well as an uplifting message that it is okay to be on your own and you are all the stronger for it.
Auntie Hero is running until the 24 August at Hoots at the Apex.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Louise O’Toole, provided to The Student as press