British Comedy Classics

Walking onto the stage with a glass of wine in hand, Dylan Moran is back with his new comedy show, Yeah Yeah.

Probably most well known from his successful TV series Black Books, Dylan Moran has been entertaining audiences for over 20 years now with his very definitely un-PC stand up comedy. The experience works well in his favour, and he comes across confident and practised.

Portraying a raffish, laid back and lazy Irishman, you’d be mistaken for thinking Moran is simply going to make jokes on the smaller topics. Yet he’s quick to put you right as he launches into his first rant on the technological world – saying “you can’t put a machine that goes blip into a grocery shop – you need to talk to people”.

Starting his set with a trip round the British Isles, Moran touches on a wide range of topics – from politics and parenthood to musicians and male pride. He makes reference clever references to the situation between Ireland and Germany, then manages to seamlessly slide into his views on the pointlessness of skiing.

While he often acts the ignorant – his belief that The Archers is simply a show about people who are “very, very worried about getting their crisps to the fete on time: no wonder everybody’s hooked” – it’s obvious he’s done his research and is talking from experience. This contradiction makes gives his punch lines an extra edge that goes beyond simple one liners.

Moran flits from one subject to another, sometimes so quickly it’s hard to keep up. One moment he’s talking about the weather, then he’s onto the confusing things women do, and finally he’s talking about middle age – and all within the space of a couple of minutes.

However, despite this, the quick change is done so flawlessly that you barely notice, and even in the pauses he doesn’t lose that audience. Though he often ‘loses his thread’ – and you can actually believe that he’s just rambling instead of following a planned and practised script – he picks up quickly enough to keep you engaged.

For some intelligent comedy that can even leave you thinking once it’s finished, Dylan Moran never fails to disappoint. Yeah Yeah is out now in time for Christmas, and is well worth treating yourself to.