Aussies might be familiar with Ó Briain thanks to the likes of panel shows Qi and Mock The Week. For the unacquainted, a quick YouTube search will yield hours of hilarious viewing. Of course, there’s plenty of amateur phone footage, but Ó Briain is largely unphased. “I’m never sure of how much damage that stuff ever does.
“People always go on about being taped on a phone in a gig. I never see that anywhere. I’m sure if Beyonce was doing a new material night, that might appear places,” he muses. “But for us, it actually doesn’t do any harm at all.”
Besides, Melbourne fans can expect something completely different to whatever they find online. “I think with stand-up, and particularly for those who like to mess around on the night with improvisational stuff like I do, clips of these gigs are promises that, if you go along, something strange might happen on your night as well,” he explains.
“They end up working as more of an ad than a spoiler. I’ll make sure that there’s stuff that even if you know the routine, the routine will be built on a lot of audience messing around, so what happens will be unique to that night anyway.”
The spontaneity of a performance is as important to Ó Briain as it is his audience, as he’s not necessarily such a novelty in other parts of the globe. “It’s hugely important because it’s all very well to get yourself psyched up for the first time in Melbourne or the first time in Oslo, but it’s not going to be the first time I’ve been in Middlesbrough or Woking.”
To some extent, Ó Briain hits refresh with every show, with a sizeable chunk of his stage time spent differently each night. “The whole thing is just better when there’s a lot of fresh things happening,” he says. “It’s always in the moment. I’m a great advocate of the phrase.
“People always say it as an excuse for a story that didn’t work, whereas I think it’s a celebration of the fact that some stuff was just in the moment. A thing will occur that won’t occur on any other night. I think it’s a great phrase for stand-up.”
By Nick Mason
Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
Dates: Tuesday April 4 & Wednesday April 5
Duration: 120 minutes
Tickets: $69.90 – $79.90
