Dara Ó Briain deftly puts on an astute show at Live at the Marquee

Live At The Marquee hosted one of the most accomplished and experienced Irish comedians on Sunday when Dara Ó Briain came to perform his latest show ‘Re:Creation’. 

Well known as a TV host, an author of several books and the co-host of BBC’s ‘What? Seriously??’ radio show and podcast, it is his ability to work off script and with a crowd as a stand-up comedian where he really shines. 

His ‘crowdwork’ where he improvises material based on riffing with the crowd is legendary. 

The first half of his show drew largely from that, mainly with a couple from Mallow whose evasive answers to straightforward questions became a running theme. 

Referencing the upcoming Cork v Dublin All-Ireland Hurling Semi Final, his impersonation of a Mayo man holding a hurley in the style of the opening sequence from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ drew reaction, as did his nod to Connemara Irish speakers not laughing at a punchline as gaeilge because it was ‘Dublin Irish’.

He kept coming back to the topic of him not being a serious person, but rather a silly person who likes some serious things, finding it hilarious that he even needs to publicly confirm he’s not interested in running for Áras an Uachtaráin. 

Doubling back on his earlier crowd interplay he teased on the idea that you don’t really get a sense of anyone when you just ask a few short general questions.

Which led us to the second half of the show, while it was built on key elements of his ‘So... Where Were We?’ show which debuted in 2021 and was performed Live At The Marquee in 2022, the current ‘Re:Creation’ show does stand alone from the previous show.

 Both of them are built on Ó Briain’s experiences researching his birth parents and trying to connect with them and the extended family. 

The twists and turns that result in him enjoying meeting up with some of his many cousins, is a masterclass in comedic storytelling, finding humour throughout the journey, but at the same time giving a real insight into how his mind works.

The many loose ends that emerged from the audience interactions earlier in the show suddenly started being folded into the second half, and once again it became clear Dara Ó Briain had deftly put a very astute show together. 

The audience at the Marquee had been a full and excited one, and lifted into huge applause at the end to show how much they enjoyed it all… despite Ó Briain’s warning of ‘The Blue Wave’ which is waiting for us in Croke Park on Saturday.