Dylan Moran has changed his persona somewhat. It was evident at first glance that he is no longer the dark, edgy character he once was when touring Like Totally. In a pink pin-striped shirt with floppy hair and parent jokes to match, Dylan now resembles more of a grumbling dad.
However, his new look hasn’t lost him the crowd. ‘There’s too much emphasis on having a point, don’t you think?’ he asks, with implications of inebriation, knowing full well that this seeming lack of direction is his special charm. He still stumbles over his sentences, rants endlessly and phrases things with the eloquence that only a drunken rambler can muster. He also continues to decorate and conclude these tangents with bizarre, delicious little images which went down a treat.
Dylan’s Fifty Shades Of Grey-inspired prosaic piece about an encounter between a man and a lunatic asylum escapee was a definite highlight. E. L. James may soon have to step up her game. Dylan’s less X-rated material covered addiction, religion, marriage and the newly acquired voices in his head. There was also a healthy spattering of baby voices and other exaggerated impersonations added to the mix. He explains why he’s simultaneously bemused and jealous of the young and bored by the old; death looms over the proceedings like Poe’s raven.
One or two of his jokes were repeats and there was precious little interaction with the audience, which he used to be so good at. It was also a little disappointing that a long interval and then twenty minutes at the end had been shaved off a supposedly two-hour set. However, the overriding response to Moran’s new show was pretty much an unanimous ‘yes, please’. Although somewhat transformed, Dylan remains a unique delicacy in stand-up.
