Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos
****
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Sun 25 Nov
Though he’s perhaps best known as the short-tempered, chain-smoking, wine-gargling bookseller from Black Books, Dylan Moran has received the most critical acclaim for his superb solo shows. From being the youngest ever to receive the Perrier Comedy Award (back in 1996, aged 24), Moran’s comedy is clearly most suited to the unadorned medium of stand-up, preferring the simple combination of audience and mic to the competitive, backslapping atmosphere of panel shows. (Incidentally, when asked recently if he had a favourite panel show, Moran replied: ‘Yes, I particularly like the one called What A Bunch Of Fucking Wankers.’) His previous stand-up tours, including Monster, Like, Totally and Yeah, yeah…, have taken on a kind of legendary status for stand-up aficionados.
And Dr Cosmos is no exception. Moran’s inimitable, rambling style shows no sign of changing, moving from religion and politics to his bleak upbringing in 1970s Ireland (“Chernobyl with priests”) and his hatred for the sudden appearance of one-word restaurants (“Fork. Stab. Bleed.”). There are moments when Moran reaches for easy, well-worn targets, like Trump and Theresa May, but his unique approach and knack for surreal visual imagery sets his observations far apart from lesser comics. But there’s one thing that has changed — he’s no longer drinking. No more does Moran work through a bottle of sauvignon blanc during his show; not now that we’re in the age of “elite fruitarian psychopaths” and “tomato whisperers”. Despite the new teetotal lifestyle, he still manages to have the air of the hungover misanthrope about him, the bleary-eyed prophet wildly preaching about the futility of modern life. And yet, it’s anything but depressing.
As has always been the case, the spontaneous and shambolic appearance of Moran’s set is carefully controlled and structurally polished, his timing never off balance and his grasp of the audience never slipping. This is a true master of the form at work, performing in the same distinct manner we know and love him for, but with a renewed sense of energy.
words Sam Pryce