DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL 2026: Review: HYSTERICALLY SHOPPING! TO SOME SORT OF END…, Samuel Beckett Theatre

Co-produced by Glasshouse and tasteinyourmouth, Hysterically Shopping! to Some Sort of End… transforms the Samuel Beckett Theatre into a high-gloss, surreal retail temple for the Dublin Theatre Festival. Composed by Aran O'Grady with a libretto by William Dunleavy, Grace Morgan, and Laoise Murray, this 80-minute dystopian pop opera offers a delightfully absurd, deeply uncomfortable, and surprisingly moving critique of hyper-consumerism, corporate jargon, and digital loneliness.

At its core, the production constructs a new-age impossible love affair, twisting classic romantic tragedy into something distinctly modern. Carrie (Laoise Murray), a hyper-scheduled marketing professional living alone, seeks comfort in constant shopping routines. While she initially sparks a connection with Sam (Andrew Gavin), a charming cashier, her romantic attachment rapidly shifts away from the human being in front of her and onto "Tilly," the automated checkout machine. The resulting dynamic echoes a warped, tech-obsessed West Side Story crossed with Spike Jonze's Her, capturing how technology mediates desire. Much like Her, the piece succeeds because it does not try to predict future gadgets; instead, it exposes how quickly humans attach to technology, rendering both the machines and the people who control them instantly replaceable.

Andrew Gavin excels as Sam, leaning into operatic tradition as a classic tenor who usually expects the central love scenes. In a clever subversion of the genre, his tenor character is outcast to the sidelines, denied the conventional operatic romantic resolution in favor of a card machine. Kathleen Nic Dhiarmada delivers the absolute standout performance of the evening, commanding the space with a brilliant mix of corporate cheerfulness, sinister malice, and theatrical grandeur as the supermarket boss. Her delivery captures the haunting reality of modern retail: comforting on the surface, yet utterly controlling underneath. Ned Dennehy provides an exceptional, unnerving presence as the Intercom Voice, heightening the dystopian atmosphere.

Zia Bergin-Holly’s set design and Sophie Cassidy’s lighting strike a fine balance between bright retail realism and oppressive corporate surveillance. A particularly clever staging choice involves revealing and withholding the live Glasshouse orchsetra behind the set, creating moments of sudden emotional intimacy followed by stark, clinical disengagement. Aran O'Grady’s score is endlessly inventive, weaving earworm hooks like "Worker of the Week" alongside repetitive musical patterns that echo the endless ritual of tap-to-pay convenience.

While the operatic repetition occasionally slows the narrative momentum, the deliberate pacing serves the show’s theme of commercial obsession. Hysterically Shopping! to Some Sort of End… is a bold, witty, and razor-sharp triumph that holds up a mirror to our collective technological dependencies.

 

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