Nic Wright

Latitude review: Roisin Conaty

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Roisin Conaty is thirty five, single, and has gallstones. Not exactly a life brimming with glamour, but her affably shambolic approach to life, and the crudeness she derives from her experiences, is a huge part of Conaty’s appeal.

While the wankishness of modern hen weekends, and the platitudes long-term singledom can evoke from uncomfortable strangers, are hardly ground-breaking set pieces, her openness and often abrasive delivery lend them more edge.

Though stories of her ineptitude – including accidentally rubbing chilli into her downstairs area, and her ensuing quest for dairy-based relief – provoke laughs, Conaty’s strength seems to be in her brash, hapless personality rather than in this particular set of material.

Perhaps her mouthy, soldiering-on outlook is a little wasted on such a largely affluent, middle-class crowd, which is a shame, but her companionable nature, and a closing tale about her first accidental foray into the world of hardcore pornography, ensure she leaves the crowd on her side, if nothing else.

Date of live review: Friday 18 July @ Henham Park, Suffolk.