Fishamble presents MUSTARD. It is written and performed by Eva O’Connor and directed by Hildegard Ryan. It is playing at the Arcola theatre and is a delight to watch from start to finish.
Mustard is a one-woman show about heartbreak and the resulting madness that occurs and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism.
E meets the “man of her dreams” who is a professional cyclist, on a night out in a club near Elephant and Castle. He is the hero that night in her eyes as he saves her from another man. She quickly falls in love with him and she describes the pretty graphic sexual beginnings in their relationship. The relationship runs its course, and he moves on quickly.
On the other hand she is thrown into the abyss of absolute heartbreak and becomes very self-destructive. She lathers herself in Mustard which could be symbolic of any self-destructive act that people undertake when the rug is pulled from under them.
Not only does O’Connor give an exquisite performance, her dialogue puts her on the same level of other great Irish writers of the past. As a fellow Irish person, I find her very relatable and hilarious. I too have parents from the West of Ireland. As a person living in London, I totally relate to her analogy of the roundabout at Elephant and Castle – so another person gets that roundabout is pretty scary.
Most importantly, as a woman that has had her heart broken, I believe her visceral description of how that feels is spot on and so relatable and poignant.
MUSTARD will run at the Arcola Theatre, with previews from 16 May, opening on 17 May and runs until 3 June.
