A confessional wrapped in a musical
As part of the London Queer Fringe Festival, I found myself at Elephant Park’s only gay bar, Betty and Joan – the UK’s first LGBTQ+ stand-up comedy club. Named after comedy royalty Betty White and Joan Rivers, the venue has a packed programme of comedy nights, cabaret, socials, and casual drinking, all tucked away on the corner of the park, writes Luigia Minichiello.
We settled into the intimate Queer Comedy Club space for Remember That Time? A Musical, a one-woman, three-character, mixed-media production from Dublin native Annmarie Cullen, returning to her roots with her first original musical.
Going in, I expected a musical comedy. There are certainly original songs, beautifully crafted and centred on the agonising breakdown of her seven-year marriage, leaving behind a rock-and-roll life in Los Angeles and Barcelona before returning home to Ireland. But despite the setting, this is far more confessional than comedic.
Cullen charts the highs and lows of her music career with band Saucy Monky, the tantalising experience of almost making it in LA, writing songs for Disney and Warner Chappell, and racking up more than 60 TV and film placements, including two theme songs for Disney’s So Weird. Yet success never quite arrives. Spain follows, alongside her creative wife, then an ordinary job, a fading relationship, and depression that refuses to let go.
The problem is that while the music is heartfelt, the comedy barely materialises. Joan Rivers would probably have asked, “Where are the gags?” Ironically, the biggest laugh of the evening came completely by accident when the fire alarm sounded just as Cullen sang about having “a fire in my belly again.”
This is very much a work in progress, albeit one with impressive credentials. Remember That Time? A Musical won Best Performance at the 2024 Dublin Gay Theatre Festival and earned an Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Award after receiving critical acclaim last summer. The potential is undeniable.
You have to admire Cullen’s bravery in stepping back on stage, laying bare her heartbreak through song. Her voice is superb, and tracks such as Would You Look at the State of You and 4.47am: Bandage on My Pain are genuine highlights, showing both vulnerability and musical talent.
For me, though, the show needs more momentum and emotional variation. At times it felt less like theatre and more like sitting in The Woolpack while a mate talks you through every detail of their breakup over a pint. Cullen reflects that her relationship “was like a favourite book where I didn’t like the ending – or some of the chapters.” That sums up the evening too: an honest, inventive performance with clever use of projected video, but one that left me wishing for a little more light among the darkness.
Directed by Aishlinn Mcilhone.
The Queer Comedy Club, 9 Hewson Way, London SE17 1JS until July 18th.
Book here:
https://events.humanitix.com/remember-that-time-a-musical/tickets
Show website: rememberthattimeamusical.com
