Belly Laughs # 2 - C.R.C. Comedy Show

What? : C.R.C. Comedy Show

Where?: Olympia Theatre

When? : Thursday 15th October, 2009

M.Cd by Des Bishop, the C.R.C. Comedy Show got off to a great start, and the standard really didn't drop throughout the night. With such an exciting line-up, expectations were high, and we weren't disappointed. With 15 acts, featuring some of the biggest names in Irish Comedy, mixing with some of the lesser known, it was a great blend, and everyone left with their sides hurting.

The show featured the comedic brilliance of Des Bishop, Ian Coppinger, Marcus Bergman, Colin Murphy, Willie White, Maeve Higgins and Colm O' Regan. After a 20 minute interval (and some confusion), Dead Cat Bounce started us off again, followed by Neil Delamere, Dermot Whelan, Elenor Tiernan, Dublin Improv (with Ian C., Dermot Whelan, Joe Rooney, and Paul Tylak), Damian Clark, Eric Lalor and last, but most definitaly not least, David O' Doherty.

Was impressed by almost all the acts, especially Des Bishop, Ian Coppinger and Colin Murphy opening the show brilliantly. I was not so amused by Marcus Bergman, Willie White or Colm O' Regan during the first half. It's not that they weren't funny, the laughs all around me could dispute that, they just weren't my style. I was also surprisingly disappointed by Maeve Higgins, which will come as a shock to anyone who knows about me and my girl crush on her. She wasn't playing to a crowd of her fans, and she almost died on her feet (and knew it).

The second half of the show was far more entertaining, with only Eleanor Tiernan leaving me straight faced. I've heard loads of good things about her, but I don't get it..she wasn't funny.

I think the high point of the night, for me, was Dead Cat Bounce's performance. They have quickly become a firm favourite of mine since seeing them in Kilkenny this year (followed closely by the DOD of course!)

All in all, a fantastic night, and a show I will definitely be going to again, and would urge others to go to, next year!

The Last Laugh

Death. It's one of those topics that few people like to think about, or to discuss. It makes people uncomfortable. Most people don't like to be faced with their own mortality. Unfortunately, it's something we're surrounded by, day in, day out.

So, we do what we always do when faced with something that makes us uneasy, or uncomfortable. We make a joke about it, try to lighten to mood. Share the laughter. Anything is material if it's funny, right?

Hmmm.

When does the joke go too far though? When do people pause, and think, remember that the subject of that joke that they're texting / emailing / tweeting etc is a person? A real person, who has just died. Died. When do they stop, and spare a second to think about that person's family, their friends?

I would love to know why it's acceptable to send crude, vulgar and generally unfunny jokes about a person recently deceased. I know that generally, the people at the heart of these 'jokes' are people in the public eye (most recent examples, of course, being Michael Jackson, and our own Stephen Gately). Sure ordinary people just aren't as interesting, are they?
But, regardless, it's NOT ok. Life in the spotlight or not, death is something that should be respected. Mourned, not joked about.

I shared this opinion recently, and was told that it was 'laughter in the face of tragedy'. I just think laughing in the 'face of tragedy' and making crude jokes at the expense of someone who has just died are entirely different things.

Am I the only one who finds it disgusting, and disrespectful in the extreme? How would the people sending these jokes feel if it was THEIR loved one who had just died? Would it be ok then? I highly doubt it. I think a little compassion, and some empathy could go a long way.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not some boring old prude who can't see the funny side of things, and my sense of humour can be as warped as the next person's. I just think that maybe, the next time you're about to hit that send button, send that 'hilariously original' joke about someone not even buried yet, you'll stop. Think. Remember that at the end of the day, a fellow human has just passed away. Maybe then, you'll change your mind?

Maybe.

A note to the Past

'We are just misguided ghosts, travelling endlessly. The ones we trusted the most, pushed us far away..'

I saw you, Past. Standing there, with your friends, completely oblivious to my presence. Why wouldn't you be? It's been years since we've seen each other, possibly years since you've even thought of me. You looked exactly the same as I remember, but completely different at the same time. I could see where a little bit of who I was then rubbed off on you. I like that, in some small, barely noticable way, you still have something from me with you.

I went home with tears in my eyes after seeing your face, Past. I hate myself for letting you have such an impact on me, still, after all this time and all the promises I've made to myself that I'm 'over it'. I'm not over it.

I think we could have been really good friends, Past. Not sisters anymore, no, but friends definitely. Remember how we made each other laugh, teased each other (ironically, about our music..you listen to my music now, watch the things I would have watched, read what I would have read..), and most importantly, how we braved the awful times together. Maybe there's just too much bad history there for you. Maybe seeing me would dredge it all back.

I hope you don't think like me, Past. I honestly hope what happened doesn't haunt you, doesn't have the power to make you cry in the dead of night. I hope that, just when you think you're doing fine, you've buried it, something doesn't come along and trip you up. I'm glad you didn't see my face. I'm glad you weren't the one who had to catch her tears amid strangers. Despite the time that's passed, I still feel far too much for you to want that.

I miss you, Past. But please, in future, could you stay there? I can't deal with facing you again.

I'm just a ghost