Written and directed by Aisling Smith, and performed by Laura Whelan, OCD Me is a one-woman play about living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
University of Galway alums Aisling and Laura present their one woman show, OCD Me, as part of The Galway Theatre Festival, playing in Nun’s Island Theatre on April 28, 29 and 30. An autobiographical play, the show gives an honest but fun account of Aisling’s experience of the condition.
Aisling Smith is a writer and director from Dublin. She holds an MA from RADA and a PHD in Theatre from University of Galway. As a theatre maker, she strives to create socially motivated work that is both intellectually and emotionally engaging.
Hailing from the Midlands, Laura grew up on a farm with her family. After achieving a BA in commerce from University of Galway, Laura began a career in marketing - but in 2020, she decided to leave that behind and pursue acting instead. She trained at Bow Street Academy in Dublin, before receiving training in the art and practice of stage craft from Helena Walsh and Kathleen Warner Yeates.
And now, more about the play...
Sarah was diagnosed with OCD a decade ago. She’s been managing it pretty well, but it’s hard living in a world that tells you to ‘follow your gut’, when your gut is telling you to touch the door handle 64 times. She’s here to share her story and let you know that there’s much more to the condition than the stereotypes we see on TV, like obsessive hand-washing (though in Sarah’s case that’s definitely part of it ).
OCD Me reveals what it’s really like to have OCD, (for one person anyway ), and seeks to combat the misunderstanding and misappropriation that surround the disorder in popular culture. Having been clinically diagnosed with the condition in 2008, this play was a long while in the making for Aisling, but time during COVID and an Arts Council grant gave her the push she needed to finally bring it to fruition.
Debuting the show at The 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Aisling and Laura received critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience reviews. This play has a lot to offer us all, but for anyone who knows someone with an anxiety based disorder or ever wondered what OCD actually is, it’s a must see.
OCD Me will be performed in Nun’s Island Theatre on April 28, 29 and 30, at 8pm each evening.
Tickets are €15/€12.
Book online at galwaytheatrefestival.com
