Mary O’Connell returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with a hilarious take on modern adulthood in ‘Dilly Dally’
After a sell-out debut, rising star Mary O’Connell brings her second solo hour to the Pleasance Courtyard this August.
Award-winning comedian and writer Mary O’Connell is back at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with her show, Dilly Dally. Following the success of her critically acclaimed debut Money Princess, which played to sold-out audiences and earned a Soho Theatre run, O’Connell returns with a personal and funny exploration of family, adulthood, and identity.
Directed by BBC New Comedy Award winner Heidi Regan, the show promises to cement O’Connell’s place as one of the most exciting new voices in British comedy.
O’Connell’s unique comedic style—described as a mix of “observational annoyance” and “left-field hilarity”—tackles the chaos of millennial life. This year, she turns her sharp lens inward, examining what it means to build a future while still living with your past—literally, in her parents’ house alongside her boyfriend, siblings, and the ghosts of childhood expectations.
There are quirky family rituals, sibling one-upmanship—including a Gen Z sister marrying herself—and culture clashes as two generations of interracial couples share a roof. All are explored with the same emotional insight and irreverent wit that made Money Princess such a breakout hit.
It’s been a busy year for O’Connell, who won the OF TV Comedy Creative Fund—reportedly the world’s largest comedy prize—in 2023, following a performance judged by Jamali Maddix, Mae Martin, and London Hughes. She’s also a Funny Women Stage Award runner-up, and NATYS finalist.
A familiar face to TV comedy fans, O’Connell has appeared on Comedy Central Live, Stand Up for Live Comedy (BBC3), and OF TV Comedy Creative Fund. She’s also written for The Emily Atack Show and The Now Show, and her sketch work features in viral digital series including Hack Attack and Comedy Confessions.
O’Connell’s blend of stand-up, storytelling, and razor-sharp observation offers something both deeply relatable and utterly original. With Dilly Dally, she’s not just poking fun at adulthood—she’s rewriting the rules on what it means to grow up.
Mary O’Connell: Dilly Dally runs from 30th July to 25th August (not 11th) at 7.15pm in The Attic at Pleasance Courtyard, with previews on 30th and 31st July. Tickets are available at www.edfringe.com.