This week, Rosie O’Donnell is taking her Edinburgh Fringe audiences on an unexpected journey. There was laughter, tears, and, of course, Donald Trump rants: he was called both The Orange Menace and Mango Mussolini.
But while US actress and comedian Rosie, 63, drew 264 paintings of The Tangerine Twit to vent her frustrations, and moved to Ireland to protect her non-binary, autistic child from him – her show isn’t about Trump.
(I suspect anyone would have the same urgency to migrate if the President of the United States ranted about you on social media.)
No: Rosie’s show is about everything Trump isn’t. It’s about acceptance over social expectations, love, and laughter.
Her opening story, describing the moment her mum died when she was a child, was a bold and perhaps erroneous choice for the first five minutes of a stand-up comedy routine.
‘I know what you’re thinking: have I booked the wrong f***ing show?’ Rosie acknowledged into the silence, before promising laughs.
What ensued was a sentimental life story, with a peppering of amusing anecdotes: the time she fell in love with a straight, married Irish pharmacist, and a lollipop lady who was convinced she was pretending to be famous actress Rosie O’Donnell.
There could perhaps have been more belly laughs to cut through the reflections, as the couple next to me was in tears by the closing minutes, moved by an intentionally heartstring-tugging hour.
But Rosie’s life lessons are worthwhile; ‘If your kid tells you who they are, you best believe them,’ and ‘Let chaos sit down beside you.’ Nice.
So no, it’s not necessarily a giggle a minute. So much so, it’s also hard to call Common Knowledge stand-up comedy – more of a Ted Talk on Rosie’s life and what she’s learnt.
Saying that, though, Rosie has the timing of a seasoned pro and the storytelling knack of a playwright, as she lovingly reflected on and celebrated her autistic child Clay’s quirks with tight anecdotes that had the audience’s shoulders chuckling up and down in unison.
(Though Rosie needs to remember her child’s pronouns on stage, given she has a whole story about Clay insisting on them).
She also penned somewhat of a love letter to Ireland – which she calls her ‘salvation and refuge’ – through what I suspect are slightly rose-tinted spectacles. But then again, if the elected president of my home country seemed to have a personal vendetta against me, I’d be looking for romance in a different country, too.
While Rosie’s show did have laughter, it wasn’t uproarious – but appreciative. Nevertheless, there wasn’t a person in that room yawning, either – crying, yes, but bored? Absolutely not.
Rosie took us on an unexpected journey, but a worthwhile one too.
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