Daddy Issues
Smock Alley Theatre★★★★☆
What could possibly capture the nuance and complexity of modern motherhood? Why, a metatheatrical reality TV show in which women carry the cloned foetuses of historical figures, of course.
In Daddy Issues, a zany and incisive new play by Brigid Leahy, tech companies and governments own the DNA of history’s great men, and it’s up to women to ensure that the clones fulfil their destinies. It being 2026, the whole thing is available to stream on the cleverly titled “State of Gestation”.
Abigail (Leahy), a doe-eyed patriot and ultimate tradwife, is carrying Abraham Lincoln, while Joan (Gemma Kane), a cynical single mother who’s only in it for the Substack, has Michael Collins. As mothers to big fellows with similar career trajectories, the women have a lot in common. But any potential camaraderie is quashed by the meddling of a bombastic British reality TV director (Clare Barrett). Amazon will “literally kill” her if they don’t ramp up the drama, after all.
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Men rarely appear, instead looming as controlling fathers, absent lovers and tech-bro overlords. When they do, they struggle to live up to their forebears. “Beta JFK” has traded Camelot for life as a lowly, vaping chatshow host.
Despite the elaborate premise and all-round wackiness, Daddy Issues offers compelling observations on what society expects of motherhood. It is high-concept and high-comedy – even the scatological slapstick has a point to make. Barrett brings star wattage to an excellent ensemble, while clever staging (the audience is cast as a Jerry Springer-style crowd), makes light work of a complicated plot.
There’s a lot going on in Daddy Issues, and at times it seems determined to take on every facet of modern life, from surveillance capitalism to nationalism. But when it stays close to the maternal material, Leahy’s play is worth a binge-watch.
Runs at Smock Alley Theatre, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until Saturday, September 12th