****

Triona Adams’ account of her year training to be a Benedictine nun around ten years ago when she was 26 is fascinating and funny. The mid twenties can be an unsettling time for many individuals as they take stock of their lives and maybe look for a change of direction. However, there are few people who have made such a dramatic change swapping the heady life of a London-based theatrical agent for a closed community in a rural setting, spending time with a dozen or so elderly, eccentric nuns.

Her story tells of her time there and the animated descriptions of the nuns are told humorously but not excessively so. She thought the rigidity of the life style would give her certainty. However, as the months passed by, she became less comfortable with her existence. Her comparison of the frugality of the way of life of the nuns with that of the more worldly monks who belonged to the same order is a little comic gem. When it became apparent to her that the other nuns didn’t see her fitting in, it was time to go.

The direction by Owen Lewis keeps the fine performance by Triona Adams lively and focussed.

****

Nun The Wiser

Company: -   Triona Adams 

Venue: -   Gilded Balloon Balcony V 14

Dates: -  5 to 31 August 2009 (not 12,19,)

Times: -  15.45 to 16.45

Fringe Programme Page: -  p215  F 26