EDINBURGH 2026: Review: AOIFE DUNNE: GOOD GRIEF, Lounge at Gilded Balloon Teviot
Aoife Dunne: Good Grief runs at Edfringe until 16 August
Aoife Dunne is performing her show Good Grief at Gilded Balloon Teviot at this year’s fringe, and it’s safe to say that it’s an emotional tear-jerker.
Dunne kicked off the show by getting a general census of where the crowd is from. On this particular afternoon, there was a lot of Irish people in the crowd. This was good news for Dunne as she explained that people from other countries don’t know how to react to death, a key theme of the show, and the main reason for her getting a feel for the crowd.
Dunne took us back to her childhood as she shared her aspirations of being an actress, going to pantomime and acting classes as a kid. When an injury occurred that meant she couldn’t play her main role in the pantomime, this is when Dunne admits: “good things don’t happen to a girl like me.”
From there, we jump forward to Dunne travelling in her early twenties, going to South America and backpacking across the continent, when one night she gets a devastating phone call that her mother had passed away.
Dunne’s storytelling is brilliant, she mixes humour with doesn’t feel awkward when speaking about emotional topics. She found it difficult to find herself for over a decade after her mother’s death, and took us on the emotional rollercoaster that she experienced, bringing tears to the eyes in the audience, but also keeping some light-heartedness in her audience interaction and sharp observations.
Aoife Dunne: Good Grief is an emotionally moving and powerful show, mixing comedy with real-life grief and heartbreak. Dunne's ability to find humour in some of life's darker moments makes for a touching and deeply engaging hour, leaving the audience crying, laughing and reflecting on the small moments that makes life worth living.
Aoife Dunne: Good Grief is at Gilded Balloon Teviot until 30 August.
The show will also be transferring to the Leicester Square Theatre on 18 September
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