I went to see Dylan Moran yesterday.
I was quite hesitant at first to order the ticket, having two exams the same week. In retrospect however, I would never be able to forgive myself for not taking the opportunity to see my favorite comedian, bar none.

Me and my friend FreddyBoy (with whom I went to see the performance) are the type of people who have seen the Black Books series somewhere around four times over, and we’ve both lost count on how many times we’ve seen the standups Like, Totally and Monster (playlist). This inevitably made us wonder whether we would have to sit through an amalgamation of all the punchlines we knew by heart, even though this was a part of a new tour called What it is (EDIT: link added).

All my hesitation was gone within the first few minutes, and I was quickly reminded why Black Books was the first TV-series that had me laughing into pain. I spent a bit more than two hours listening to witty sarcasm and interesting views of our everyday lives, and I just kept wanting more. The main theme was what a person is to believe in, in this turbulent world of ours. Science, religion and politics were discarded in favor of pleasure. Naturally, the performance took different directions at times, which only served to make the show more interesting.

Dylan Moran is a master of comedy. What puts him among the legends is the unpredictability and his lapidary way of portraying the world around him.
The first mentioned trait is what has made me stop appreciating and literally avoid American comedy. Often I both know every word that is going to be said, and how it is going to be said. Indeed it might have been entertaining the first or second time, but that’s where it ends.

Brittish comedy often challenges the audience, asks it to try to keep up with the twists and turns created by the authors. Unpredictability creates interest because it gives us something to explore. But what if the world explored is a bland one? That is where Moran is able to use a few select words to exaggerate it into a caricature which grabs your attention, seemingly out of nowhere.

No matter how much I love this man’s work however, I have to point out that it seems the ones sharing my taste are rather few. The majority of friends I’ve shown Moran’s work for have sat for lengthy amounts of time wondering where the fun is to be had. Take it as both a warning and an invitation.

When Moran is speaking, I listen. You should too.