Watch as the Pinot Princess attempts to handle her acting life, love life and her detached relationship with her mother all at once
Pinot Princess written by Lorraine Mullaney and directed by Deidre Daly depicted the character of Mary, an actor running a show called, The Pinot Princess, attempting to handle her acting life, love life and her detached relationship with her mother all at once.
The show begins with Mary, acting as the Virgin Mary or also known as the Pinot Princess, showing an alternative narrative to how the Virgin Mary came to be. With her boyfriend Joe, playing many roles in their play, the squabble constantly over social media gains, their personal relationship and how both are blinded by their own longings.
Mary and Joe, played by Pamela Flanagan and Neal Craig were a well-made fit, performing to their strong points, nailing the ‘actor’ acting. Showing the struggle of actors attempting to survive their first run of The Pinot Princess. We quickly see through the duo, that their personal lives are both taking a toll from the show, watching their struggle to pay rent and survive as a couple, with two different goals.
With a thoroughly engaging performance from both Flanagan and Craig, the themes in which they were situated in, felt murky.
There was a slight lack of determination to reach the actual questioning of religion and society within this performance. This world was swarmed with different elements all of which needed more defining to get to the bottom line of the true story.
Jumping from place to place was a regular occurrence, easy to follow along, until additional attributes were introduced. Mary beginning to voice as her own mother, also called Mary, left the show jumping around even more so than before.
The story was one of a personal matter and much for the audience to juggle all at once. At times, it was difficult to identify what the main focus of the show was. It seemed to be a combination of multiple matters: discovering the true identity of the Pinot Princess, a stab at the harsh life of an actor who becomes swallowed by her role, Mary expressing and rediscovering her distant relationship with her mother, and the complicated ethics of Mary’s Catholic upbringing versus playing the role of a punk Virgin Mary. There was much to see in just one hour, the extension of this show would’ve been beneficial to find the true essence it was perhaps missing. Longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize 2022 The Pinot Princess contains a tornado of topics including the polarity of Mary’s life, acting as the punk Pinot Princess, and going against her mother’s religion, all whilst seeking her genuine self. The Pinot Princess at the Omnibus Theatre runs until the 14th of April.