JADAR

★★★★☆

Golden Time (and Other Behavioural Management Strategies) is a one-woman show written and performed by the shimmering Kate Ireland. Produced by Blether Forever and PJ Cunningham and directed by Giulia Grillo, it is a thrilling production from start to finish, and dedicated to the hidden inner child within us all.

Golden Time began its run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025 where Kate Ireland introduced us to the world of assistant teaching, inner child healing and the magic of being different. I was looking forward to seeing this show for several reasons and have been following the production, from afar, for over a year now. Looking at the marketing and social impact, there was clearly something special going on with this stunning team, and I could not wait to see what it was. Needless to say, my expectations were high going into the night.

From the moment you step into the space, you are somehow immediately grounded and transported into a safer place, somewhere familiar and somehow new. Ireland greeted every audience member, handing out stickers, asking about their seating, their day, demanding an immediate presence that transports you past viewer into an active participant. Kate Ireland, immediately, puts you at ease and allows you to enter the story at your own discretion, carefully pulling you alongside her. She expertly guides audiences through her carefully researched production, her past experiences and stories, all the while making a safe space to explore your own past.

The production struck a chord and left me laughing out loud and crying with others in the room. It is flawlessly written and I think deserves a moment of celebration for small theatre companies everywhere.

As a fan of Ireland’s work, I was excited to see how she stitched together the world of spoken poetry and stand-up comedy. I was blown away by her ability to do so. The production was ‘creatively captioned’ by Emily Bold, making the piece feel personal, inclusive and, frankly, fun. She captivates the audience and expertly manages her body, breath and vocals to deliver several fully developed characters to the room.

This production can change the life of every audience member who sees it, if you allow yourself to get transported with Ireland. She has a natural ability to grab your attention and welcome you into the performance space with her. There was only one moment I felt this moment of disbelief falter, and it was the first transition from her active dialogue with the audience into spoken poetry, where she described her Monday Morning routine. This transition came on suddenly and left me feeling separate from the text. Personally, I would have liked a signifier of this transition into poetry earlier on in the story. Similarly, a softer transition into a poetic dialogue would have been nice as she progresses through her week, signifying her need for artistry in her working week. That being said, I find myself struggling to relate to elements of contemporary theatre but understand that for other audience members, this may not have been a problem.

It feels unfair to call this a piece of theatre when it is so much more than that. It was bursting with life, with research, audience participation, personal reflection, and connection to our collective past. I was not sure what to expect but being transported back to the version of myself when I was seven was not it.

I do want to congratulate the creative team on their ability to create and harbor community in such a small space during their golden 60 minute performance. I have very rarely seen an audience come together after a performance in this way, united together as we each wrote, cried, laughed and hugged one another. Golden Time was truly spectacular. 

This is a true testament to what can be done by smaller artists with thorough research and an intention to help others. Kate Ireland is a hurricane and I am beyond excited to see what she does next.

Golden Time (and Other Behavioural Management Strategies) runs at HOME (Theatre 2) until February 28.