Review: Good Mourning Mrs. Brown
By Elli Davis, March 11, 2011
- Good Mourning Mrs. Brown
- Princess of Wales Theatre
- Now through March 19
Toronto audiences welcomed Mrs. Brown a year ago, but the critics were harsh. This year there is a new show in a new theatre and the results are the same. Although the audience laughed, applauded and gave the cast a standing ovation the critics have been as unkind as before, and I am afraid I am no exception.
As I watched a clever group of men and women make fools of themselves on stage, I came to the conclusion that Mr. O’Carroll was providing us with a sitcom live on stage peppered with language only permitted on cable. Imagine my astonishment when he commented that he and his troupe have become one of the BBC’s most successful sitcoms this year.
Mrs. Brown
If you can imagine Lucille Ball mixed with Carol Burnet but with language usually reserved for men's pubs you have the basic premise and style of Mrs. Brown. This show, one of five “Mrs. Browns” written for the stage, is a patchwork of stories about several members of her dysfunctional family. Granddad wants to fake his death in order to see who really likes him. Agnes Brown thinks this idea is terrific and plans to give some of the insurance money to her son, Dermot, to help support his unborn triplets. “Imagine if you name them Tick, Tat, and Toe” says Mrs. Brown to her daughter-in-law, Maria, “there will be no Tit for Tat.” The audience bursts into laughter.
I counted and the F word was used more than 60 times in less than 100 minutes. Like gratuitous nudity, excessive vulgar language does no one any good.
This is not family entertainment in spite of the fact that it is all about a family. It is not really theatre in spite of the fact that it takes place on a proscenium stage. The cast appears to have no self control, bursting into laughter and unable to regain composure and deliver their lines. I have not seen such antics on stage since the old Carol Burnet show.
The skits within the show on the surface have a comedic edge. Grandad (sic) is unable to hold a thermometer in his mouth so the intoxicated Dr. Flynn resorts to taking his temperature rectally. In walks his daughter whilst he is standing with his pants down (literally and figuratively). She quickly pulls up his trousers and has him sit on a chair. The audience screams with laughter and Grandad winces with pain. This, my dear readers, is a sampling of what you will see at the Princess of Wales should you chose to check out Mrs. Brown.
If vulgar language is necessary for you to enjoy yourself, save yourself some money and watch the sitcom on a cable channel.
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Leora Clifford thought on February 1st, 2012 6:49 pm
I have lived in Toronto since 1961 — I came from Irish roots — Peterborough area — and I have never laughed so hard as when I saw the two Mrs. Brown shows in 2010 and 2011. Have we become so stiff and “sophisticated” that we can’t enjoy this type of humour? If we all had a hearty laugh now and again, life would be a lot better. When I feel a little down I go to u-tube and watch some of their episodes. I always, always feel better. Why did you not bring Mrs. Brown and her hilarious, disfunctional family back this year? I was so looking forward to the next episode. Please rethink your position on this. When I toured Ireland, one of the best evenings of the tour was a show in Dublin that featured Noel V. Ginnity. The Irish know how to make you smile and laugh and laugh and laugh! So hope you can bring them back for 2013. There is something terribly missing in 2012!