Does it Bring You Joy? (A Monologue) by Nora Louise Syran

(A 6 minute Monologue) Edith sits waist high in a pile of cheap looking clothing while her husband is having dinner with the neighbours next door.

You can see Miranda Jonte present a cold reading of it on Back Porch Theatre: https://fb.watch/iR60ZbIp47/
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Does it Bring You Joy? (A Monologue)

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  • Scott Sickles:
    5 Aug. 2023
    “ An elegant, measured, often hilarious… rant? Outcry? Bemoaning? Lamentation?

    Any or all might do!

    In Edith, Syran has captured the bitter inner snob in all of us. When I say “all of us,” I mean “me,” but that level of honesty DOES NOT BRING ME JOY, so I’m including all of you.

    Vividly real, a prisoner of her own indulgences and jealousies, and just as big a pain in the ass to be married to as her husband.

    I’m glad I’m not at the dinner party with her but I enjoyed the minutes I’ve spent! ”
  • Andrew Martineau:
    29 Oct. 2022
    “ A great monologue can reveal character in just a few seconds and give an actor a real person to embody, and wow, Nora Louise Syran does that in spades with Edith! I love that she gives the Kondo
    Method of tidying up a try and trips up (literally) on her indulgences. The lint vacuuming by Hank is hysterical, as well as Edith’s disgust in his practicality. This monologue definitely brought me joy! ”
  • Morey Norkin:
    18 Apr. 2022
    “ Like Sondheim’s Ladies Who Lunch, Edith in Does it Bring You Joy? Is not a happy person. She’s jealous of her presumably younger and fitter neighbor, her husband annoys her, and anything foreign seems like too much of a bother. Even the KondoMari Method can’t bring Edith joy. But in this short monologue, Nora Louise Syran manages to make Edith a sympathetic character. There is humor to be found, but it merely highlights the sad state of Edith’s life. A great challenge for an actor! ”
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1 WOMAN (late 30s-60s)