Press clippings Page 4
An utterly triumphant second series wraps up with a pair of episodes that see Marcella (Roisin Conaty) zig-zagging between joy, pain and talking to a horse. After a rough night, she swears off drinking and heads off for a few quiet days in the country with a perilously weak phone signal. But will she get a happy ending?
Hannah Verdier, The Guardian, 14th August 2019Last time, our frustrated singleton Marcella had to dress up as a monk. This week she is in a TV ad that pays so well she winds up almost too wrecked to attend her creative writing class. Cue a harrowing session with life coach Frances and an invitation to the party from hell. Roisin Conaty: comedy genius.
Mike Bradley, The Guardian, 7th August 2019Roisin Conaty: interview
The actor, stand-up and creator of TV sitcom GameFace on the things that make her laugh the most.
Harriet Gibsone, The Guardian, 26th July 2019Still reeling from being called "a potato-faced slapper" by Simon's ex-wife Tanya, a bruised Marcella seeks solace in her acting work; trouble is, barring a bit part as a monk, she can't find any. Writer-star Roisin Conaty's scripts get better by the week, with the internal rhythms of her comedy winning our hearts.
Mike Bradley, The Guardian, 24th July 2019A handsome round of applause for the welcome return of GameFace, Roisin Conaty's filthy and intemperate Fleabag for the working class. It begins with excellence: "A flower does not compete with the flower next to it. It just blooms." Marcella (Conaty) is listening to an "inspirational" podcast or some such. "As you begin to express the vision you have of yourself... ", its flibbery nonsense continues, "today is the only day you will ever have. Be grateful, be brave and be excellent." It was all bizarrely reminiscent, for some reason, of Mr Johnson in recent interviews, the only difference being that the average teenager uses this kind of "positivity" filth to be nicer to animals and try to pass their next dauntingly easy exam: Boris is about to pretend it's the answer to running a country.
Anyway, the acting role Marcella's been psyching for is a plague victim in the London Dungeon; a good enough gag, but not as good as Conaty's later suggestion that "if you confess a lie within 24 hours, it can be written off as more of a... 'prank'". I believe that's called a life hack and intend to use it assiduously. Glisteningly written and fun throughout, if not to all tastes, but a splendid starter.
Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 21st July 2019GameFace review
Roisin Conaty serves up sexual frankness and women-behaving-badly comedy.
Peter Crawley, The Irish Times, 18th July 2019Review: GameFace, C4
Main female character with a chaotic life, dishy enigmatic male, boozy friends, embarrassing sexual scenarios, therapy sessions...it's impossible to write about Roisin Conaty's GameFace without at least noting some of the similarities with Fleabag.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 17th July 2019GameFace series 2 review
Roisin Conaty's sitcom has got a deserved promotion to Channel 4 for its second series, and things seem to be going well for her character, Marcella, too. She's finally got an acting job - the opening slo-mo sequence follows her preparing backstage en route to the spotlight - and she's even passed her driving test.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 17th July 2019GameFace review - irresistible comedy
Roisin Conaty's sitcom about the perils of being a thirtysomething single woman packs in the punchlines, leaving a sense of joy in its wake.
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian, 17th July 2019GameFace, Channel 4, series 2, episode 1, review
In the sitcom's second series, characters remain well-drawn and the scenarios feel grounded in a very specific type of London reality.
Sarah Hughes, i Newspaper, 17th July 2019