Getting from the Isle of Man to Aberdeen despite thick fog cancelling or diverting flights sounds like the sort of challenge Dara O Briain might face on Taskmaster.
But the Irish comedian pulled it off in real life – plane to Edinburgh, hire a car, drive to Aberdeen and get to His Majesty’s despite not being able to see the end of his arm in the mist.
Dara said he was delighted to have made it to the HMT stage after a journey from hell (not quite the words he used) and the audience were just as pleased he made it, judging from the rock star welcome the funny man received.
And once the weather was out of the way, Dara got on with doing what he does best – making a packed room roar with laughter as he delivered stories, anecdotes and gags at a breakneck pace. Man, he talks fast, but every word counts.
Dara O Briain’s gig at His Majesty’s Theatre was dazzling and hilarious
It’s all dazzling and hilarious stuff – like his mum’s addiction to giving a story arms and legs – or his body parts that keep disappearing. Apparently, there’s a wisdom tooth and testicle roaming around his innards.
Then there Dara’s whole riff on the difference between a cane and a walking stick. Now we all know that it’s the rubber stopper that stops you looking like Lucius Malfoy and more like Frasier’s dad.
One thing missing was any real reference to Mock The Week ending its 17-year run on the Beeb on Friday. A couple of mentions of “the boy off Mock The Week” was your lot, but Dara has no need to look back. Not when he has this blisteringly good tour on the road.
Dara’s skill was evident when he started riffing with the audience
Dara’s sheer comedic skill was most evident when he came off script and started riffing with the audience. That’s when his easy charm, good-natured banter and fast-as-lightning comedy instincts spun genius stuff out of fresh air.
We have Donny the oil industry engineer to thank for sparking a stream-of-consciousness sequence about secret subsea equipment, dropped into the sea like Rose’s necklace in the Titanic – “she could have saved Jack you know” – while giant mutant children are bred in Aberdeen to service rigs underwater but their real mission is to drag Scotland off to the Dalmatian coast beside Croatia when we separate, physically no less, from England.
All of this from “hello, what’s your name and what do you do?”
And a huge thanks to the lady in the audience who shouted out about using her husband’s whole name to let him know he was in trouble. It gave Dara the launching pad for some of the funniest moments of the night.
Moving moment in the middle of Dara’s stand-up show at HMT
But it wasn’t all laughter. In a deeply personal show, Dara talked about finding out he was adopted and his belated quest to find his birth mother, beset by the legal problems that until recently shrouded adoptions in his native Ireland.
True, he still managed to mine comedy from it, but it was a touching and at times shocking story that drew laughs, gasps and heartfelt applause and cheers in equal measure.
And then we were back to pure comedy genius sparked in the moment by things Dara noticed around him. You know, the marble proscenium arch of His Majesty’s does look a bit like good marbled steak, now he’s mentioned it.
That was a tasty note on which to end a two-hour gig that more than lifted the gloom Mother Nature threw at the Granite City.
As Dara left the stage, still saying how much he loved playing Aberdeen, he was left in no doubt Aberdeen loves seeing him here given the thundering applause and cheers.
You can find out more about Dara O Briain here.
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