Dylan Moran

“...with a trombone!”

By Will Dean

Bernard Black is the alter-ego of a talented Irish comedian. In his sitcom Black Books, Black is a misanthropic, chain-smoking, heavy-drinking grump.

Dylan Moran is a talented Irish comedian. He is the alter-ego of Black Books’ Bernard Black. He is also a misanthropic, chain-smoking, heavy-drinking grump.

He is also in the habit of repeating himself. At least he is according to one mardy heckler.

You see Moran goes round in circles so much with his routines about the things he hates (mainly self-improvement and children) that when he loses his spot, as frequently happens, he tends to revert to jokes that are firmly in his memory bank (ie the ones off his DVD).

So when he loses it completely and asks the floor for questions, it spells trouble. What results is Moran looking hurt and then dissecting the student wally who asked “got any new jokes?”

It’s a shame because it ruins the show. When Moran gets going he, despite the muffling sound of the venue, has the audience enraptured. He’s grumpy, but he’s lovely. He just needs to remember where he’s going.