A biting and heartfelt comedic odyssey about what it really means to be loud.
Gobby is the story of one woman’s search to accept and process the myriad ways she’s been put down. Using party paraphernalia to tell the story, Bri (Irvine) toots her horn through a series of house parties that may well allow her to escape a multifaceted emotional trap.
Newcomer Jodie Irvine had one of the buzziest plays at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, taking on the Big Belly; the space which saw Millie Thomas’s Dust, Monica Dolan’s The B*EASTS, Maddie Rice’s Pickle Jar, and of course the little known Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge introduce new female writer-performers to the world. Gobby followed up gaining word-of-mouth momentum with audiences for its smart and dark take down of coercive control. Following sold out performances in Edinburgh and as part of Pleasance Theatre’s “Best of Edinburgh” Season Autumn 2019, Gobby comes to VAULT festival for seven performances this February.
Five parties. One big mouth. Bri is not who she used to be, so she’s revisiting the five parties that changed her. Gobby is a one-person playlist of awkward encounters, starting over and growing up, staged amongst hoards of party memorabilia and a whole host of anarchic festivities.
As we increasingly train ourselves to question if disconcerting behavior masks trauma or an uncomfortable truth Jodie Irvine’s first full length play deals with the old analogy of the swan gliding over the surface, as the feet spin beneath the water. Delving into gaslighting and emotional abuse – which so many people suffer at the hands of controlling partners – Gobby is a roar for a return to real life.
A darkly comic telling of survival, and a lesson in how to throw a really good party.
This new play is written and performed by Jodie Irvine astonishing audiences at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe having premiered in London at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, and performances in Manchester, Bedford and Exeter supported by Arts Council England.
“Unforgettable” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby
“A raw, triumphant and soaring one-woman odyssey” ★★★★★ Stage Whispers
“Pure genius” ★★★★ North West End
★★★★ Remote Goat
★★★★ Feminist Fringe Review
Gobby is directed by Rosie Snell and produced in Edinburgh and at VAULT Festival by Jodie Irvine.
