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Some revelations come from the therapist’s couch; others arrive mid-rehearsal when your director points out an uncomfortable truth. Comedian Roisin McAlinden brings her cheeky, confessional style to Melbourne Fringe in a show exploring how fairytales shape our romantic disasters.

Meet The Comedian – Roisin McAlinden

What is this show about?

I think a lot of us can relate to getting out of a relationship and then looking back at it and asking ‘why did I put up with that?’

This show is a playful and personal look at the reasons we sacrifice ourselves for love, told through the story of a fairytale romance that turned into a nightmare.

Fairytales fascinate me because they shape our ideas of love before we are even old enough to talk, and this show explores how these ideas continue to play out in our adult relationships. While writing, I learnt that before Disney or even the Brothers Grimm got their hands on these stories, the first person to ever tell a fairytale was a woman, Madame D’Aulnoy. Through this show, I wanted to explore how different our ideas of love would be if women had been able to tell our own stories.

How would you describe your comedy style to someone who has never seen you perform?

My style is cheeky and playful. There’s a childish innocence to my on stage persona that allows me to poke fun at the absurdities of adult life. It’s also deeply intimate and confessional. There are things I wouldn’t even tell my closest friends and family that I have no trouble saying on stage to a room full of strangers. It’s always fun when you say your deepest, weirdest inner experiences out loud and someone in the audience goes “no way, me too!”

Where do you find your material, and how does a new bit begin?

I keep my notes app on hand, and whenever I have a funny thought or idea, I will jot it down. Then my brain will keep ticking over it until I find a punchline (usually in the shower). At that point I’ll sit down and write it out, get up on stage and try it out, and then cut half of the things I thought were funny and the audience did not, until eventually you hone it into something great.

Who are the comedians who shaped the way you think about performance?

I grew up in the UK so my comedy stylings are heavily shaped by that. There is an amazing generation of women comedians in the UK using comedy to explore their personal life experiences and mental health – Helen Bauer, Ania Magliano, Catherine Bohart, to name just a few. I am so inspired by comedians who can reflect on their inner experiences in a way that helps you to understand yourself better, while also bringing down the house with laughter.

What is the most personal thing you have put into this show?

The biggest personal realisation in this show actually came from a conversation with my Director, Penny Greenhalgh. I was talking about a childhood crush I had on a problematic Disney character, when my Director pointed out that the way I described him sounded like I was talking about my Dad. At that point I had to up her rate, because she helped me realise something about myself my therapists never had.

What do you want the audience to walk away thinking or feeling?

‘That was so funny!’

But I also hope that this show will encourage people to reflect on what they are seeking out in their own romantic relationships, and whether they can learn to give themselves some of the love that they are seeking elsewhere.

A huge thank you to Roisin for sharing the deeply personal origins of this show and the surprising discoveries that came with writing it. If you’re ready to laugh while reconsidering everything you learned about love from Disney, catch Fairytale: Ending at Melbourne Fringe – tickets are available now at the festival website.

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