The room is full to the brim for Barefoot Before God, which is the debut solo show of Irish comedian Lorna Ní Shúilleabháin (pronounced “knee-WHOO-lovan”). Audience members stand at the back. Lorna commands reverence when she enters: barefoot (as she normally is) and rocking her signature fashion style (“a walking charity shop”).
In Barefoot Before God, we learn that Lorna doesn’t really fit in anywhere. But everybody wants a piece of Lorna, who is incredibly charming in a way that is not fake or forced.
Swaths of adoring fans have come to see her, cheering and chanting her name. This is not a regular show where people avoid the front row for fear of getting picked on by the comedian. Lorna is infectiously personable, adept at crowdwork in a way that draws us closer to her. Like every good Irishwoman, she enjoys a joke about the British, but even the Brits are in stitches by the time she is done with them. She remembers every audience interaction and impressively recalls names and small details, making the show truly personalised. Lorna’s charisma drives the show from start to finish and we stay fully engaged.
Barefoot Before God is a story of transformation. When Lorna moves to Barcelona, she transforms into Lorena. Lorena’s new life is a maze of crossed wires, language barriers, and cultural misunderstandings. From tampons inserted in the wrong holes to avoid embarrassment, to inadvertently seeing a large naked man drink tea, Lorna’s collection of anecdotes is very entertaining. She skilfully weaves in storytelling about her traditional Irish upbringing and how it clashes with her new life. Is it weird to do karaoke at a funeral? Nevermind. Her physicality adds to the charm and we are treated to a demonstration of Irish dancing with minimal hip movement, as well as instructions of how to eat a calçot (a Catalan spring onion) in the most salacious way possible. Lorena is just doing her best to fit in as a queer woman dressed like a charity shop. And we love her for it.
Lorna – who has been doing comedy for only a year (!) – is excellent at fitting punchlines in at every opportunity, sometimes three to a sentence – even spontaneously during crowdwork. She clearly takes time honing her craft and it’s wonderfully entertaining – the energy doesn’t drop even for a second. Lorna is an outstanding storyteller. While some outlandish situations in her jokes probably didn’t happen in reality, her warmth towards her audience, and ours towards her, makes it all feel true. It’s all her, and we truly, genuinely feel like we know her by the end of it. What can be said about Lorna is that whenever she is on the stage, her heart and soul are with us: barefoot before God and her audience.
Barefoot Before God is about journey and transformation, and its narrative structure is the one thing that could be more cohesive. At times, it feels like more of a collection of anecdotes which could be threaded together better, perhaps chronologically. I was left wanting to know more about Lorna’s life in Ireland before she became Lorena and how that contributed to who she is today.
All in all, I highly recommend seeing Lorna perform. You will love Lorna from the moment she steps on stage. If you’re lucky, she might even do crowdwork on you!
