Venue: Dublin Municipal Theatre at Smock Alley
Time: 6:45pm
Reviewer: Emma McDonald
Edited by: Kaitlyn Smith
★★★★★ 5/5
Please Break My Heart was a show for the girls who live their lives through the characters on screen.
I adored all the movie and TV references: Casablanca, Pride and Prejudice, Some Like It Hot, Singin’ in the Rain, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Notting Hill and so many more. It was the perfect blend of classic and modern classics that represent love and heartbreak.
At the centre of the show was the question: what makes heartbreak so special that so many of the greatest pieces of media are centred around it? I think Nóra Ní Anluain Fay beautifully captured just how completely confusing, messy, frustrating and thrilling falling in and out of love can feel.
It was a mixed-media performance combining dance, film, text and even audience karaoke. In fact, the audience almost felt like another character in the story, reacting with laughs and groans to stories from her dating history that ranged from lightly hilarious to horror-adjacent.
The show really benefited from its intimate setting. I loved how the props were strewn across the room, so before they were even used you could start imagining what each item and costume might become part of.
Her dance moves were electric. The dancing felt calculated while still having so much flow, and I loved the music choices throughout. I was impressed by the amount of energy she had — I was exhausted just watching her throw herself around the room.
As someone who spent so much of my childhood consuming media about love and dreaming about what it would be like when I finally grew up, only to then get older and be humbled by how different the love portrayed on screen can be from real life, I felt so seen.
I know it’s an experience a lot of women can relate to. It reminded me of the whole “men written by women” trend, and the idea that sometimes the ideal man feels basically fictional.
It was an incredibly relatable and compelling night at the theatre, and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, experimental and campy show, performed beautifully by Nóra Ní Anluain Fay.
★★★★★
