Dylan Moran is back out on tour, which can only mean one thing: take cover. We Got This, his first full stand-up show since 2019’s acclaimed Dr. Cosmos, is the latest sideways glance at the folly of modern-day life from the Irish comedian, fuelled by the past two years that we’ve all been living. “We are bruised. We are fucked up. We are all sore,” he says. “It’s not just the pandemic. It’s the times and how we’ve got through it.”
HOBART WREST POINT ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE | WEDNESDAY 19 APRIL
LAUNESTON PRINCESS THEATRE | THURSDAY 20 APRIL
MELBOURNE HAMER HALL | FRIDAY 21 APRIL
ADELAIDE THEBARTON THEATRE | TUESDAY 25 APRIL
CANBERRA CANBERRA THEATRE | THURSDAY 27 APRIL
NEWCASTLE CIVIC THEATRE | SATURDAY 29 APRIL
GOLD COAST HOTA | TUESDAY 2 MAY
BRISBANE QPAC CONCERT HALL | THURSDAY 4 MAY
PERTH PERTH CONCERT HALL | MONDAY 8 MAY
SYDNEY STATE THEATRE | THURSDAY 11 MAY
WOLLONGONG TOWN HALL | SATURDAY 13 MAY
Dylan is keen to get back out in front of an audience, to take the temperature of the nation, and unpack what just happened. “Everybody’s very angry at politicians and they always are. But I’m angry at us, the way we’ve decided to live or what we’ve decided to put up with.” In particular, the multi-billion dollar tech corporations – the Facebooks and the Googles of this world – will be taking the brunt of his ire.
“I have to talk about it because it’s so enmeshed in the fabric of everything, now that we’re all having this major reaction,” he says. “Look at the way we’ve been living. Effectively, we’ve been in a miked prison cell, all sort of communicating on Zoom or whatever… I can’t believe how docile and bovine whole populations are being with these tech realities that we’ve just accepted wholesale.”
Since his early days in comedy, Moran’s reputation as “the Oscar Wilde of comedy” has grown exponentially, spreading across the globe. He was even the first English-speaking comic to play St. Petersburg in Russia, with translators on hand to interpret for those who didn’t speak English. He’s since played in Estonia and Kazakhstan – “a really fascinating” experience, he adds, and one that “makes you very appreciative of having a government that functions [by] not leaning quite so heavily on fear”.
Away from stand-up, Moran’s comedy cult status has been assured for life after co-writing and starring in Black Books, the Channel 4 show that ran for three seasons between 2000 and 2004 and won him two BAFTA awards. Playing Bernard Black, the misanthropic, frequently inebriated owner of the eponymous second-hand bookstore, the show has gained a new following of late since appearing on streaming platform Netflix.
He calls it, with typical modesty, “part of the space junk orbiting the consciousness that’s out there”, though that’s not to sound dismissive. He’s deeply appreciative of the affection held for the show. “On some level, I’m pleased to have a satellite up there. But I’m really focused on what I’m doing here. And the work that’s going on right now, obviously. Listen, if anybody enjoyed anything, I’m thrilled. Always. I really am. I mean that because that’s the whole point of it.”
Moran, who counts painting and writing poetry among his many artistic disciplines, also has a book underway, which he’s had to put aside while preparing for the tour. “I mean, I just want to carry on working to be honest with you.” For the moment, though, Moran needs to concentrate on putting the finishing touches to We Got This. And that requires some energy from the crowds too. “It’s not an object that I haul there like it’s a grand piano. It’s a thing that’s made when the audience arrive as well.” Everyone, it seems, has their part to play.