I was curious to see Rose + Bud, Rose Coogan’s new play, having interviewed her for The Sunday Times a couple of years ago. It was a brave exercise but weirdly undramatic, even though the raw material is full of drama. This is first person central theatre, an account of Coogan’s trans journey towards womanhood and pulls no punches. There were difficult moments, moments of complex decision making – to fumble with Conor, the fancied next door neighbour or not, the throwing up in the Ladies loo – but often the tone was comic with rapid changes of gear. Audience members near me laughed quite a bit as Ballynahinch came in for its share of giggling, also Derry where Coogan goes to study for a drama degree.
The Naughton Studio witnessed a kind of stream of consciousness, overwritten in places but with a few memorable lines and gags. Maybe there’s a different way of telling this very personal story, via stand-up or a more distanced account. The mother figure came across fairly well, with fags, a personal driving style and ultimate acceptance of her child (“You’re my wee daughter..you’re like a little doll.”). At the risk of attracting woke opprobrium, the question of what is a woman didn’t entirely resonate or work. Although Rose Coogan, who performs as herself and with a male former alter ego, looks very pretty and womanly with musical backdrops including the theme from Gone with the Wind and of course, Somewhere over the Rainbow. The problem is the shifts from tenderness to full on, necessarily crude exposition about a woman not just being someone with a fanny.
It's a complicated, important subject and one that needs consideration but this didn’t hit the mark. Benjamin Gould directed for Commedia dell’Arte.
Jane Hardy
