SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2025

Baby It's Cold Outside   Jade O'Neill (Madison), Brian Markey (Joe), Mary McGurk (Patsy) and Michelle Wiggins (Sally)
in 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. Photo: Emma Dawson

An artistic resurrection intertwines itself with an impending on stage birth in director Michael Quinn's Christmas revival of Brenda Murphy's Baby It's Cold Outside, a production as notable for its strong character building as it is for its frequently funny and sometimes uproarious style. The Bright Umbrella production, staged in Belfast's Sanctuary Theatre, is both bright in tone and a sanctuary for clever comedy, as the skilful seasonal sensitivity draws very impressive performances from Mary McGurk, Michelle Wiggins, Jade O'Neill and Brian Markey.

There is a worn-down appearance and a cosiness in PJ Davey's set, the living room of a house right out in a wintry nowhere, and in the colour of Lindsay Charrington's costumes, each speaking to that oft-told thematic contrast between the myopic and the realistic, the planned and the unplanned. In this environment we find a trio of lesbians – Wiggins' sharp-talking Sally, McGurk's stressed out, heavily pregnant Patsy (hence the impending birth) and O'Neill's alternately sly and ingenuous American, Madison. They are to be joined by Markey's straight man Joe, a bricklayer who seems discomfortingly possessive about Patsy's baby while also conflicted about feelings that he may not quite have left behind.

Jade O'Neill (Madison), Brian Markey (Joe), Michelle Wiggins (Sally) and Mary McGurk (Patsy)
in 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. Photo: Emma Dawson

Powerful comedy and drama arises from this set up, as does very rich thematic depth, with Murphy's dialogue and Quinn's guiding hand presenting a blend of snappiness, bluntness and poignancy. There is pity in Joe, rather than condescension – his apparent attempts to counter Madison, Patsy and Sally with his own idea of sense carry the internalised embedding of his own upbringing with them. And even though he is mocking of Americans and their teeth at one point, choosing instead to highlight the "honesty" of Shane McGowan's, one gets the impression that he is more approving of the likes of Madison than he appears. It's why Madison being American works, and O'Neill, with her numerous smiles and aptitude for physical humour, clearly relishes this portrayal. For Stateside pop culture is the kind that often seems to be revered but not fully accepted on this side of the Atlantic, as if there is more happiness in admiring an emblem of beauty from afar without wishing to know too much about what's going on beneath the surface. And Madison is the American Dream in all its draws and difficulties – a melting pot of apparent contradictions who brings harsh truth but also bright joy to the world.

Alongside this, Wiggins finds purity and honesty in Sally's visible striving for stability both as an individual and within the group, while McGurk meets the challenges in the role of Patsy with panache, most tellingly in her conversations with Joe and in a truly shocking confession. But for all these troubles, temporary unity is eventually discovered as a warm heart meets the strong art – it's really not spoiling much to say this – at an end point where the characters and cast become, if only for a short while, a community for one another and the audience. That is what matters, both in this show and at Christmas. I feel this is Quinn and the cast's way of wishing us the happiest of holidays, and I genuinely don't think they could have done it in a better way. I'm happy, for sure – but I'm also moved. Much more than I expected to be.

Simon Fallaha

Baby It's Cold Outside runs at the Sanctuary Theatre, Belfast, until Sunday January 4, 2026. For more information, and tickets, click here.