‘A love letter to my mother that I’ll never send…’
Full of myth, humorous tales, tough truths and based on real-life, No One Is Coming is a rollercoaster experience inside a fun (if traumatised) Irish woman’s brain. An award-winning storytelling performance about a mother and daughter, Sinéad O’Brien and Wandering Stories’ provocative new drama is not strictly about those with mental health issues.
It is though, about those who care for them, love them, and grow up with them.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show is?
Hi I’m Sinéad, I’m a theatremaker and storyteller originally from Ireland. I worked in East London and in Amsterdam as a storyteller and performer, and this is my first time at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. My show is called “No One Is Coming” which on reflection maybe wasn’t the smartest marketing tactic, but there you go. It’s a dark comedy of mythical proportions about a daughter and a mother’s turbulent relationship. I mix old Irish folklore with modern-day mammy issues, really it’s a love letter to my mother that I will never send. A coming of age story about what it’s like to realise your mother isn’t like all the other mam’s at the school gate. I hope it speaks to all those who love their parents from a safe distance. (There’s a happy ending I promise, look I’ve made it to Edinburgh Fringe, it’s grand.. I’m grand. I’m amazingly well-adjusted really..)
Tell us about the creative team and process involved?
This is my first solo storytelling show, directed by Sahand Sahebdivani, the Iranian Dutch storyteller and director from Amsterdam. No One is Coming was first commissioned by Amsterdam’s International Storytelling Festival in 2020, and enjoyed critical success at Prague Fringe 2021 and at London’s Riverside Studio’s in 2022. Irish people are a bit famous for our particular brand of humour, and this show feels like a madcap rollercoaster adventure inside a slightly traumatised Irish Woman’s brain. It swerves from true story to myth in the blink of an eye, the magical realism of the old stories matching the heightened atmosphere and unspoken weirdness of living with undiagnosed mental health struggles. We are excited to bring the show to the Scottish Storytelling Centre for Edinburgh Fringe this year.
How does it feel to return to the Fringe?
I’m thrilled to be performing at the Scottish Storytelling Centre and it’s a wonderful place to experience my very first Fringe. Performing in Fringe is on a lot of performers’ bucket lists and I’m excited to see as much as possible while still being able to perform well and not die of scurvy. I have a lot of comedian friends who keep warning me not to live on gin and biscuits alone.
There are over 3,000 shows at the Fringe. So, what sets your show apart?
This show is an unusual mix of ancient stories and modern-day mammy issues. Not quite a monologue play, not quite a storytelling show. It’s a darkly funny rollercoaster ride inside a slightly traumatised Irish woman’s brain. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you will walk out with a lovely contact sheet full of great information on different mental health organisations available. But mostly it’s a weirdly feel-good story about growing up in a family that’s a bit different and learning to make sense of the stories we tell ourselves.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping for the audience to take away?
I really hope the audience comes away feeling compassion for other people’s struggles. We are all just doing our best, which can look very different for everyone. Our struggles aren’t our fault, but they are our responsibility. Also, Irish mythology is weird af.
Your ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t there…?
I hope the audience is full of the weird kids, the quiet ones, the people on the fringes. People who love stories and unexpected laughs. People who have battled their own demons and lived to tell the tale, or those who care for those who face these battles. Who isn’t there? If you’re looking for leprechauns and twee little bedtime stories, you are shit out of luck my friends.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
I plan to drink insane amounts of tea and eat cake, I’m excited about tea shop recommendations if anyone would like to offer. I enjoy hiking so I want to go for a ramble along Arthur’s seat. I highly recommend catching the Growler at Summer Hall. Giant walking lady flaps spouting wisdom and love. Love her. And Niamh Denver has a show at the Gilded Balloon “Get Blessed” She’s a brilliant performer and we both used to work in Ireland National Leprechaun Museum. Which was as weird as it sounds.
In your ideal world, how can we improve the world of the Fringe, of performance, and the industry?
Art is what makes us human. If we could value it at every level as necessary and healthy for all and not just a niche, elite interest that would be great. Not just that art is for all and everyone should feel welcome coming in through the doors but also that art is already to be found in every part of our society. In the scribbles on the walls, in the banter at the pub, in the
