There is no question Dylan Moran has built up a devoted fan-base over the last decade, born out of the ability to remain articulate and, for the most part, painfully accurate, whilst noticeably inebriated.
Around the time of his sitcom, Black Books, Moran had already perfected this character. The overtly cynical drunk, taking astute observations about the world around him, and turning them into sharply worked diatribes, that appeared random and off the wall, whilst actually being cemented in something that was instantly identifiable to people. His audience loved to imagine that he spent the majority of his days stumbling around his house, despairingly cynical of the world around him, similarly to his Bernard Black character.
In Moran’s new show, “Yeah, yeah,” the comic makes no secret of the fact he is comfortably approaching middle age. Somehow, one gets the impression that Moran is no longer as nihilistic as he makes out. The sketches about family life are predictably pessimistic, but underlined with a barely-disguised contentedness that perhaps slightly undermines the skit that he has become so accomplished at.
Representations of male/female relationships are of the woman as Mary Shelly, and the man the Frankenstein they have created. Despite this, it is also evident that Moran is actually very fond of his wife and children. This scarcely matters. It is clear from the knowing sideways glances couples exchange throughout his pessimistic observations, that people recognize the situations he creates, and coupled with his superb delivery, it makes for hugely enjoyable stand-up.
A section on dinner parties is familiar ground; the superfluous formalities (“No, I wouldn’t like the tour. I’ve got a house full of shit, why would I want to see yours?”) and awkward conversation are well illustrated and material appropriate to the educated middle-class that no doubt make up the vast majority of the crowd.
The suggestion that David Cameron’s inability to know what to do with his Big Society is best demonstrated by the two hand gesture of being unsure where to put a box down, gives an example of the rare ability he possesses to observe an apparently innocuous action and use it as a metaphor for something topical and relevant.
Elsewhere, there is talk of people from London having enforced stereotypes about the rest of the country. He expertly counteracts the point by showing how these same people conform to these very stereotypes, and suggests an idea of having supermarket self-service check-outs that reflect these ideas.
Over his time as a stand-up comedian, Dylan Moran has beautifully mastered the art of staying within the adopted character of the bitter, drunken Irishman, whilst managing to present superbly well-thought-through ideas in a flowing and lyrical manner. He takes for his routines subjects that are not rare in stand-up comedy; family life, religion, relationships etc. but through bizarre metaphors, and a unique and intelligent approach to such issues, Moran commands complete control over his audience, and the result is thoroughly entertaining.
Truly excellent writing james!
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