Birr show will be love letter to Britney Spears

Comedian Julie Jay will perform her new show 'Oops, This is Toxic' in Birr Theatre and Arts Centre this Thursday.

Julie's new show is a love letter to Britney Spears but really uses Britney’s story to look back on noughties misogyny. It is a celebration of surviving sexism and toxic situations.

Julie originally wrote the show three years ago and speaking ahead of the performance in Birr, she said: “I was always a complete Britney fan. As a red-headed teenager I never got the chance to be Britney in a school talent show. I had two choices Ginger Spice or Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus.”

The Leixlip native describes the show as her love letter to Britney but also uses the examples of Janet Jackson and the shaming of Paris Hilton in the early 2000s to make a comment on misogyny. She also incorporates Justin Timberlake into the show while examining his apology and attempt to redeem himself in recent years.

"A lot of the jokes in this show I wouldn't necessarily use in a normal stand-up show. It's a heavy topic. The show has evolved as Britney's story has.” The Kerry-based comedian said she wanted to examine how badly Britney and other famous female personalities were treated by the media and men in the industry.

Speaking about the writing process for 'Oops, This is Toxic' Julie said: "I wanted to create jokes within the context of what I was talking about (Britney Spears.) The audience are not necessarily expecting jokes about noughties sexism. I wrote everything from scratch for this show and the context is what inspired the jokes.”

“I really do believe the Britney story is just a parable of our time when it comes to sexism and double-standards, and also how hard it was coming of age as a young person in the noughties,” concluded Julie, who recently sold out the show at Edinburgh Fringe. The show is on Thursday, September 29 at 8pm.

To purchase tickets visit birrtheatre.ticketsolve.com.