@ Perth Concert Hall on Sat 7 Mar 2015
(and @ Glasgow International Comedy Festival on Wed 18 Mar 2015)
Dylan Moran returns to the stand-up circuit with this bitingly funny tirade against modern society. Probably best known as a bit of a drunken grump, most memorably as Black Books’ bookstore owner Bernard Black, Moran pretty much keeps up the image, although, now middle-aged, he admits he can’t handle the drink as much as he used to. He’s older, wiser, fatter and grumpier. It could have been the title for the show if ‘Off the Hook’ hadn’t been chosen.
Moran hasn’t been doing stand-up for a while, so it’s nice to see a return for the Irish comedian. Things start off a little shaky with some amusing but hardly inspiring political satire. It does take a little while for the comedian to hit his stride. Moran really comes into his own in the second half of the show with a deliciously and unapologetically hard-hitting denunciation of anyone or anything younger than him.
Whilst it would be fair to say this is basically two hours of an angry old man complaining, it doesn’t do justice to the delightfully bizarre and lyrically eloquent flow of his set. Such hilarious anecdotes as his argument with a young, trendy coffee barista turn into an epic piece of storytelling filled with surreal metaphors and imagery painted by Moran’s hilarious use of words. It’s fitting that the bizarre images he has painted and drawn by hand in his spare time also appear on the screen behind him.
Moran still remains an insightful, original comic. It’s a treat to be swept up in his hilariously vindictive battle with society through a stand-up routine that will likely have us all nodding in agreement.