Posts Tagged ‘Lorcan Mc Grane’

As part of the 10 Days in Dublin Festival, I had the opportunity to see Lorcan McGrane in the intimate surroundings of the loft at The Twisted Pepper. Going to the gig, I had no idea what to expect from McGrane save for the info on his promo flyer, which described a pop culture-savvy comedian with quick witted material; did he make good on his pitch??

Geekdom is the name of and the most suitable descriptor for what McGrane is doing here. He takes us on a chapter by chapter breakdown of his geekiness and tells us about the hilarious ways it has impacted various elements of his life. Initial quips about the validity of religion vs. Sci-fi aside, everything felt remarkably fresh. He opened with a hilarious dissection of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, delving far too deeply into the plot, finding holes and inconsistencies but also relatable material to drive the set forward.

A recurring theme was his love of comics and porn (vices which many geeks can attest to being more than commonplace) particularly She-Hulk, the lesser known heroine who grows green and angry. The plethora of comic book references were used to marvellous effect to highlight the particular element of Geekdom he was trying to tell us about. He very effectively used a well produced powerpoint presentation to guide the audience through the indepth analysis of Geekdom, this aesthetic choice is a smart one on the part of McGrane, as it delivers a level of accessibility that would not have been present if he had simply talked about comics & sci-fi for an hour. He also explored the reality-bending science behind many obscure sci-fi films, addressed the true feasibility of a space prison as well as the personal and professional effects of being a lifelong geek!

McGrane displayed great control over the unfortunately small audience and managed to make the over-the-top material accessible to any audience member. Occasional moments of slapstick punchlines may not be to the taste of more mainstream gig-goers, with topics like masturbation and the like making frequent appearances. Overall however, McGrane successfully embraces the themes of geekiness and self-mocking without being contrived and delivered a set that could be tailor-made to suit the smallest of backrooms or largest of theatres.

The Geekdom experience is one that will be most appreciated by those of us with a little nerdiness in our hearts. McGrane is a genuinely warm guy to watch and what’s on offer here is an honest, funny and ultimately endearing set. If you have ever dressed up as a Lord of the Rings or Star Wars character, this set is reference grade geek humour for you but even if the geek world holds no interest for you, it’s never been more fun to watch someone of great talent talk about being hopeless.

If you fancy seeing Lorcan yourself you can find his gig details on facebook and twitter.

Don’t they say the best things in life are free? Well we here at the Comedy Scoop certainly thinks so  So just for you our lovely readers we have managed to get our hands on tickets to some of the best comedy gigs during the 10 days in Dublin festival. Here are those gigs we have tickets to:

• Lorcan Mc Grane takes to the Twisted Pepper stage on Fri 6^th and Sat 7^th @ 7.30pm and we can get you in to see him free either day
• Get tickets for ‘Brainwashed’ by Cormac Moore in The Workman’s either Sat 7th or Sun 8th @7.30pm

• Fancy seeing Vinny Mc Hale in Whelan’s?  He’s on Mon 9th @7.30pm

• Kieran Lawless takes over The International on Tues 10th @6pm
• 4comedians then band together to bring you 3Men and a Bitter Lady and we have tickets for either Tues 10th or Wed 11th in The Twisted Pepper @ 7.30pm
• Sketch comedy experts Foil Arms and Hog will be entertaining punters in The Workmans on Wed 11th @7.30pm – we have 1 pair left!

• Rory O’Hanlon can be found in The International Bar on Wed 11th @ 6.30pm
• Aidan Killian is happy to welcome you to Bad Ass on Wed 11th and Thurs 12th @9pm and we are lucky enough to have one pair of tickets for both nights
• Taking to the The Stags Head stage on Thurs 12th @9pm is Danny O’Brien with his show ‘All my Friends’

• The Princes of Lagos bring improv to 4Dame Lane on Thurs 12th @8.30pm
• ‘Game Boys’ will be live in The International Bar @6.30pm on Thurs 12th

• The crew from Humourisms.com will bring their show to The Workman’s on Sat July 14th @7.30pm
• Michael Downey’s return to comedy begins on Sat 14th @8.30pm

So have you seen something that takes your fancy? You have? Well fab! All you need to do is send us a mail to competitions@thecomedyscoop.com and tell us who you would like tickets for and let us do the rest! Why not have a night out on us eh? Get entering now!!

In the second of our pre show natters we chat to Lorcan McGrane who has built his festival show around the concept of being a geek! Quite a random topic one might say….

So Lorcan where did you get the idea for the show?

Well, I suppose one of the themes running through my stand up overall is being a lonely geek so the idea of the show was to take all the geeky elements of my stand up sets and putting them together in a logical way, so the show starts with childhood stories of starting to realise I was attempting to deconstruct things like Disney records from an early age on to how being enthusiastic about comics, films, science fiction and gaming affects ‘real world’ things like learning to drive, job hunting and relationships (or lack thereof).

There was also the sense of being geeky as somehow cool now, and with supermodels and hunks claiming to be ‘geeks’ because they sense it is cool and they have maybe seen Star Wars once, and it was chance to comment on that from a perspective of someone who is passionate about this area irrespective of fashion.

So you want to defend the geeks of the world no matter what the cost, I hear you. Will you be taking the show on the road this year?

After the 6th and 7th of July, I will be doing the show as part of the Sunflowerfest up near Lisburn, Northern Ireland on the 17 August. I have done the show at the Belfast and Norwich Fringes but this is the first time doing it in Dublin. Each time I update it with new material. Then it will be on to developing the next hour, possible titles I’m toying around with are ‘Blank Inside’, ‘God Help Us All’ and ‘The Psychotronic Video Guide to Life’.

Lorcan McGrane

Nice titles! So this is your first time performing the show in Dublin, what are your thoughts on the 10 days in Dublin festival?

I can’t wait to do it, I remember seeing the brochures and reviews from last year’s festival and kicking myself that I hadn’t got in touch to try and do my show in it. Then during the year I did a spot at ‘The Death of Comedy’ at the Workman’s Club, and got to know the festival organiser Robert Kearns and took it from there. It’s a great opportunity to have festival experience like this in Dublin, and I’m looking forward to seeing as many of the other shows as I can.

OK Lorcan, it’s your time to shine. What’s your geekiest possession?

Oh there’s a few, I have a signed photo of Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap, Battlestar Galactica) where he says ‘to Lorcan, thanx’ although I was never sure for what he was thanking me, and also one of Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from Star Trek) where she says ‘to Lorcan, love Nichelle’, I later found out that this love was not genuine or legally binding and was merely a scribbled formality.

My favourite geeky possession though is a first edition American version of ‘Watchmen’ I got in second-hand bookshop in Galway for six old Irish punts circa 1988. I had it signed by artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Hughes at comic conventions. I constructed a bookmark from black ribbons with clock hands attached to the bottom of them and keep it in a special folder with news articles on the comic and film adaptation. It’s held together with masking tape from my frequent re-readings of it. Oh, and my VHS copy of Robocop, the first video I ever owned.

If you want to let you inner geek shine you can catch Lorcan on July 6th and 7th at Twisted Pepper for the small cost of €5. For more details and to check out the rest of the comedy programme, check out the 10 days in Dublin website here

Last but no means least we bring you the final list of comedian’s who’ll be fighting it out to make you laugh during the 10Days in Dublin festival starting this week!

Lorcan Mc Grane is bringing his new show ‘Geekdom’ to The Twisted Pepper on Fri 6^th and Sat7th @7.30pm. So what was his inspiration for the show you ask? Lorcan tells 10days the answer; “Judging by blockbuster movies and hipster vintage t-shirts, being a “Geek” is cool somehow, and a lot of people come up and ask me: “Hey Lorcan, how do I become a geek?, it seems like an awesome lifestyle choice and you seem like a deliriously happy, well-adjusted, and not at all sexually-frustrated person.” I tell them… “Oh, it’s easy, find a time machine, go back to the late 1980s and spend your formative teenage years, virginal and friendless, with only action figures and copies of ’2000ad’ for company, and hey presto!, a bright future of pedantic deconstruction and virginal friendless adulthood awaits…failing that you could come to my comedy show instead” Sounds like the best option is to go to the show doesn’t it! Tickets are just €5 but we’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on two pairs to give away  to you lovely folks, one for each of the nights the show is on! So just mail us; competitons@thecomedyscoop.com and let us know which night suits you to learn all about ‘Geekdom’

‘The Thing is…’ is a show directed by John Dawson but performed by well-known comedian Eddie Naessens in Whelan’s from Tues 10^th – Thurs12th @ 7.30pm. For just €5 Eddie will present his show “about approval. The following topics are worked over for your amusement and delight: Celebrity Culture, Religion, Relationships, Family, News Media, Irishness, Reality, The Irish and their relationship with reality, and of course some Q&A. Expect segues and detours away from the main ideas; Naessens would hardly be warm and engaging if he stuck to a script.” Of course the 10days site is right and we’re sure Eddie will happily meander around the planned topics in his attempt to make you chuckle! Fancy checking him out for free? Send us a mail with you details and the night that suits you; competitions@thecomedyscoop.com

Do you want even more comedy for your money? Well, you greedy yoke ya, the Humourisms.com lads figured you might so they’ve decided to collaborate to create their show ‘Be afraid’ which will take to the stage in The Workman’s Club on Sat 14^th @7.30pm! The show, according to the 10days website, will combine “video sketches, live performances and standup. With doomsday clocks ticking, print media dying and twitter streams clogging our attention span, Humourisms.com tries to figure out if we’re facing the end of the world and if it’s not too late to put a baby in a rocket ship and send him to a planet where he might get superpowers. It’s a bit of an optimistic plan, really.” But it’s worth popping in to see if they succeed for just €5 isn’t it? God loves a trier though so if you fancy chancing your arm and asking use for a free pair of tickets drop us a mail; competitions@thecomedyscoop.com and we’ll see what we can do

Phew! That’s the list of comedians participating in this years 10Days in Dublin festival (5^th- 14^th July). Surely there’s someone there you want to go see! Hop on over to www.10daysindublin.ie for even more options (they have theatre, film, music and more to entertain you also) and to book your tickets obviously

Ok, so we’re all guilty of just skimming through the articles we read online which is why we’ve decided to make it a little easier for you to nab yourself a freebie or two for the 10Days in Dublin festival next week. Here’s our entire list of freebies, in order of performance, so you can see at a glance what tickets you want most. Once you’ve made your choice all that’s left to do is mail us; competitions@thecomedyscoop.com and the rest is up to us!

• Lorcan Mc Grane takes to the Twisted Pepper stage on Fri 6^th and Sat 7^th @ 7.30pm and we can get you in to see him free either day
• Get tickets for ‘Brainwashed’ by Cormac Moore in The Workman’s either Sat 7th or Sun 8th @7.30pm

• Eleanor Tiernan will perform in The Twisted Pepper on Mon 9th @8.30pm
• Fancy seeing Vinny Mc Hale in Whelan’s? He’s on Mon 9th @7.30pm

• Kieran Lawless takes over The International on Tues 10th @6pm
• 4comedians then band together to bring you 3Men and a Bitter Lady and we have tickets for either Tues 10th or Wed 11th in The Twisted Pepper @ 7.30pm

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