04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Broadcaster Barbara Scully brings one-woman show to Wexford Arts Centre
A familiar voice on radio, Barbara is one half of the 'So You Think You Are An Adult' slot (with Declan Buckley) every week on the Moncrieff Show on Newstalk. She published her first book, called Wise Up – Wisdom, Power, and the Older Woman in 2022, and ever since she has been on a mission to change the narrative around ageing, particularly for women. In 2023 she dipped her toe into the comedy ocean for the first time and realised she could make people laugh. She also realised that comedy was a great way to continue to deliver her message of positive ageing.
Her new show Older, Bolder, Wiser is a combination of comedy and story telling. In late 2024 she did two test shows, both of which sold out and received standing ovations. Since then, she has performed at Dalkey Comedy Festival and at the dlr Mill Theatre in Dundrum. She is now taking her show on the road and is coming to Wexford on Friday May 23 to perform at the Wexford Arts Centre.
'I am thrilled to be coming to Wexford with my own show,' Barbara says. 'I am looking forward to the audience how ageing can actually be quite delicious, especially when you realise you no longer give a damn about so many things.'
Older, Bolder, Wiser is a lively, rollercoaster journey of storytelling and stand-up comedy as Barbara muses on some of the absurdities of being a woman along with the joy of getting older. She says that once you stop paying attention to the messages about anti-ageing and other nonsense around how women should be in the world, getting older is great.
'Once you are through the menopause, you arrive at a wonderful time, full of freedoms and the opportunity to do things that you have not been able to in earlier decades. The problem is that no one tells you about it. Possibly because this is the very time when women actually step into their matriarchal power and have the ability to be all kinds of bold,' she says.
'I want everyone to leave the show having had a bellyful of laughs and feeling more positive about getting older than perhaps they were when they arrived.'
