Large Manchester

Dylan Moran: Yeah, Yeah at The Lowry

I am ashamed to admit that Dylan Moran only first came to my attention in the shining Graham Linehan sitcom Black Books, as the barking, boozing socially ill-equipped rageball Bernard Black.

In truth, Moran has been racking up critically acclaimed stand-up performances since age 20, appearing regularly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, starring in hit feature films such as Run, Fatboy, Run and Shaun of the Dead and winning Baftas, the Perrier Award and the loyalty of many, many fans.

Moran’s latest tour Yeah, Yeah is an brilliant yet thoroughly exhausting mix of the tightly organised and the chaotic.

The first half of the show was accomplished; a razor-sharp, perfectly paced discourse on everything from politics and gender politics to religion and other miscellaneous absurdities of life. No word was wasted, and the audience was hooting throughout.

Returning to the Lowry’s splendidly purple Lyric Theatre after a brief booze and ice-cream break, however, the tone was altered. He riffed at length and it was enjoyable, but it never really got to a tangible point. Although he is unparalleled at painting a hilariously absurd picture, some of Moran’s apparent free association (I’m sure his words were actually carefully chosen) failed to form into anything tangible - it was occasionally difficult to get the joke, and grasping for the punchline was hard work.

Moran is too obviously charming, charismatic and scruffily affable for me to fully buy his grumbly old man persona, although being cantankerous does definitely suit him. Ageing happens to be a main theme of his tour - how he’s coping (or not) with his approaching middle-age, his struggle to understand the world and importantly, how to stop thinking purely with his pecker and really start to appreciate the beauty of the world.

Despite its inconsistencies, I greatly enjoyed Dylan Moran’s performance at the Lowry, and would encourage you all to jostle for tickets before they undoubtedly sell out.