Comedian, writer and podcaster Gearóid Farrelly is bringing his new show, Glamour Hammer, to Vicar Street. Sínann Fetherston sits down with the stand-up to find out more.
Gearoid Farrelly wants to make you laugh. Plain and simple. No underlying message needed.
With his new show, Glamour Hammer, he aims to deliver a side-stitching night filled with witty quips and insights into his everyday life as a gay man in Ireland, jumping from his love for Shania Twain to his "generic-looking" cat. A good laugh, he says, is what the people want.
"I went to Edinburgh [Fringe Festival] for two weeks this year to work out the show, and then all of a sudden I was in the middle of doing this bit on masculinity, and my own masculinity, and I got the end of the show and I was like, 'why is that even there? Cut!' You're not going to bring that down to Portlaoise where everyone is on their third wine asking what the f**k is he talking about?"
"Just the funny," he states. I have no patience for the rest."
So much fun in the Hammersmith Apollo again tonight. I found a Nando's wrap in my dressing room and speculated it was left there by the Sugababes earlier this week. Apparently I was right! pic.twitter.com/2GkNeOMD2S
— Gearoid Farrelly (@gearoidfarrelly) November 4, 2022
Despite insisting that he wouldn't be able to take himself seriously doing anything too highbrow, Farrelly has plenty of experience in delving deeper. Having come up through the arts, the Irish man has added many strings to his bow by acting, writing, podcasting, and directing.
Earlier this year, he directed fellow comic Julie Jay's smash hit show, Oops This Is Toxic, a heart-breakingly funny breakdown of misogyny and pop culture in the '90s and '00s.
Despite praising Jay's performance as a roaring success, he insists that he would be "rolling his eyes" at himself if he were to do something similar.
"I have no interest in solo performance beyond stand-up," he insists. "I did a couple of shows of Alan Bennett's A Chip in the Sugar, which is like an acting role and it's a solo show and I loved that, but in regards to me doing a solo show about something... I don't think I have the gravitas to pull that off."
Thanks to everyone who came to my show at the Town Hall in Galway last night. It was so much fun and @DamianClark knocked it out of the park as support. The parents were in so it was nice to have a lovely audience as I disinherited myself. pic.twitter.com/gBez5CNs3F
— Gearoid Farrelly (@gearoidfarrelly) October 1, 2022
Something that stands out when speaking to Farrelly about his career in comedy is his apparent lack of ego. Underneath his self-deprecating humor, there seems to be a solid foundation of modesty and talent that remains unchanged by the spotlight.
In a career where your inner thoughts are loudly applauded or rudely jeered, it's understandable how comics often could tie themselves to their roles, weaving their public persona with their sense of self.
Gearóid, on the other hand, seems to have a refreshing approach to his time on stage: a job is a job. If he has to get another one, so be it. In fact, when the Covid-19 pandemic arrived on Irish shores, the Dublin man insists he was ready to pack it all in and return to his career in IT development.
The idea of starting over again once comedy clubs opened was all too much, and it took the persistence and persuasion of Joanne McNally to keep the stand-up on stage.
As fate would have it, he hasn't had a second to sit down since.
McNally's Prosecco Express tour jumped from a handful of gigs in 2019 to a record-breaking 62 Vicar Street dates, along with sell-out performances across Ireland and the UK.
"It was Joanne that bullied me into tour support," he laughs, "and I said no so many times. I'm so lucky. I said to her many times that I wasn't doing it and to get someone else. This was around the time that she said she was going to do a podcast with Vogue [Williams]. Then it went up to about 20 Vicar Streets, and I was like, 'Oh, hold on'."
In the end, it was when McNally booked the Palladium in London, a venue that holds over 2,000 seats, that Farrelly decided to pick up the mic.
"She told me to do the support for the Palladium," he explains, "but then she said if you're doing Palladium, do the Vicar Streets. Then two weeks later she said I couldn't do the Vicar Streets and leave her to travel the rest of the country on her own. Then, before I knew it, I was driving the bloody van."
Having found his audience amongst the hoards of women and gay men that have boarded The Prosseco Express, Farrelly says he is ready to deliver a night of laughs for his new fans with Glamour Hammer.
"It's my crowd; women and gays," he agrees. "That's the thing, I supported Neil Delamere for years and he would sell so many tickets, but there just wasn't a lot of crossover."
"I was very entertaining for the wives," he laughs, "so we were a good combo from that point of view, but it was a very slow build. I've never had the experience that I've had here.
"I remember one night with Joanne, there was a standing ovation after my support bit and I thought, holy f**k, you are my people!"
Reflecting on his role as the opener for one of the country's biggest breakout stars, the ever-humble comedian says that performers shouldn't let their egos get in the way of the opportunities that come with warming up a variety of crowds.
"It was a real lesson for me [gigging with Joanne] because I remember thinking, 'why do we not do more of this?' There's a weird status thing about being the support but there's a lot to be gained, particularly in the age of social media."
"I'm a professional bridesmaid," he jokes. "I think I'm the comedian that has played Vicar Street most and never done a solo show there, so it will be really nice to do it now. It's a nice time for it to happen because I've played all of those venues and now I'm ready to be in the big room."
For more information or to find tickets for Gearoid Farrell's Glamour Hammer tour, click here.
