GIFT OF THE GAG. – Liverpool Echo.  2/4/04.

 

Debbie Johnson finds Black Books star Dylan Moran is always on the look-out for a laugh.

 

A tip for budding comedians out there: always carry a spare cigarette packet.

Dylan Moran – master of stand-up, stage and screen – says he always thinks of his funniest lines when he’s out and about, and ends up desperately scrabbling for something to write on.

He says “It’s not like you can sit down one night and decide to be funny. If you’re planning a show, and you need to come up with new material, you are always on the look-out for it”.

“The stuff that comes to you and inspires you is always at the most unlikely of times – and usually when you least expect it”.

“So I never have anything to write on. A large proportion of my of my notes have been written to myself in scribble on the back of cigarette packets – whatever comes in handy at the time”.

 

Dylan stands up to get monster laughs.

 

From page 1.

 

Irish-born Dylan is heading back out on the road in the follow-up to his last stage show, Monster. It’s called Monster II, which is as good a name as any.

It takes him across Europe, throughout Britain, and to the Liverpool Philharmonic on May 7.

The tour is something that he is very much looking forward to – and completely different from his recent work in TV and film. He says “I was getting itchy feet again, to be honest. Doing stand up is a strange business. You have to be incredibly focused on it. It’s odd, it’s like you have to save yourself for that big hit at the end of the day. I have to kind of put myself in quarantine for the day, keep myself in box or something, before climbing out of it at night for the show”.

“It is hard – but to be honest, doing stand-up does something for me that nothing else does. I’ve always loved it. I’m addicted”.

Moran has his showbusiness roots very firmly in the world of stand-up. Since winning Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny? talent show, he has also won a prestigious Perrier Award, and made many a person laugh in his tours.

He has also become a familiar face on our TV screens thanks to his work as writer/performer in the cult show Black Books. The quirky comedy, set in a shambolic book store, has been a surprise hit with both critics and viewers. It has won a BAFTA and is currently in the middle of its third series on Channel 4.

He says “Well, I wouldn’t say I was always surprised it was successful – obviously I always thought it was pretty good and deserved to be successful! But you can’t be complacent, and it is wonderful that so many people like it”.

He remains evasive about whether there will be more oddball tales of the Black Books variety after this series. He says: “Oh I don’t know about that, it’s hard to say. It is extremely hard work, and I am always cream-crackered at the end of it.”

He also achieved critical acclaim in Men Behaving Badly writer Simon Nye’s comedy-drama How Do You Want Me?

The small screen led on to roles on the big screen as well.

He has starred alongside Michael Caine and Michael Gambon in the film The Actors, and also had roles in the feature films Shaun of the Dead and Notting Hill.

“I enjoyed all that,” he says, “and if anybody wants to be kind enough to send me scripts, then I will always take a look”.

“Working with Michael Caine was an experience. He was cool. The thing that strikes you about him is just how good he is- he’s such a pro, he’s made so many films. This is not the kind of man who makes mistakes. Whereas I was strictly amateur hour – I think in my first scene with him, my mobile phone went off!”

His mammoth stand up tour with Monster II takes him all over the continent.

But he is pleased to be revisiting Liverpool. He says: “I have been in Liverpool a few times, and I’m not just saying this, but it is one of the places I look forward to playing. There is always a really good, receptive crowd. In some places you feel like you’re in competition with the audience because they’re trying to be funnier than you, but that doesn’t happen in Liverpool”.

 

Dylan Moran will play at the Liverpool Philharmonic on May 7.