THE second in Brendan O'Carroll's "quadrilogy" of plays about Agnes Brown, the sharp-tongued Dublin mammy with the dysfunctional dynasty, Good Mourning Mrs Brown follows the established formula of a catgut-thin plot strung weakly across O'Carroll's b
arbed putdowns and malapropisms as the redoubtable matriarch. Devotees of Sean O'Casey will wince at the cartoonish portrayal of the archetype, while O'Carroll's assurance in the programme that these "tough, loving and caring women" employ "f***" as readily as punctuation is conspicuously convenient for affording his poorer lines impact.
Although there's broad wit in O'Carroll's script, the sheer relentlessness of the family's supply of laboured set-ups for Agnes's withering punchlines starts to become irritating early in the production's three-hour duration, though Mrs Brown's followers – and they are many – lap it up until the play's nonsensical song and dance ending. Nevertheless, it's a con, with O'Carroll rendering the air blue in the apparent belief he's being edgy, while exploiting cosy nostalgia for an anachronistic, working- class Dublin.
His writing lacks the grounding in reality and empathy for recognisable human problems that provide, say, Roddy Doyle's characters with moments of genuine humour and pathos. Agnes apart, none of the family possesses any dimension beyond lines on a page and the narrative fails to hide its contradictions and pat resolutions, as when a burglary arrest is abandoned simply because the investigating detective is shamed about his extramarital affair.
The cast, comprised of O'Carroll's family and friends, do their best with painfully restricted roles, laughing gamely at the foul-mouthed harridan in their midst. But this only adds to the sense of smug self-congratulation that envelops this feeble, lowest common denominator fare.
The full article contains 290 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
