Katie Boyle: Roe v Wade versus Katie ★★★★

Katie Boyle is brave, outspoken and unapologetic as she ploughs headlong into her experiences of life on either side of the pond from Ireland to New York and in particular what it is like to access pro-choice health care for women.

From the outset, she is clear about her opinion and even gives permission for the audience to leave if they might not like what she has to say – but no-one does. And thank goodness, because if they had they would have missed an hour of comedy gold as she spouts about the inconsistencies between Irish and American cultures. She debunks romantic notions held about the Emerald Isle – patterns on Arran jumpers are not quaintly unique but family specific to make it easier to identify drowned fishermen – who knew!

Pro-choice from childhood and with parents who supported the viewpoint, her departure from Ireland to live in the US was partly to escape some of the more repressive attitudes of home: she couldn’t have anticipated the about-turn caused by the reversal of Roe vs Wade – but as always, it is the tragedy of certain situations which heightens the humour.

This is a very funny hour – Katie Boyle is fast talking – god help anyone who doesn’t have English as a first language – though she says she speaks even faster in the US. She has plenty to say and it’s relevant, provocative, hilariously cynical and more than equal to the sound of the karaoke coming from the bar above. Definitely an act worth catching, even on the day on which she’d made a 48-hour turn around to the States for a residency interview!