Performance and Identity in Irish Stand-Up Comedy - by S Colleary (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

One of the cultural phenomena to occur in Ireland in the last two decades has been the highly successful growth of stand-up comedy as a popular entertainment genre. This book examines stand-up comedy from the perspective of the narrated self, through the prism of the fabricated comedy persona, including Tommy Tiernan, Dylan Moran and Maeve Higgins.

Review Quotes

'A lively and interesting book that provides a much-needed examination of Irish stand-up comedy. The work of important comics like Dylan Moran, Tommy Tiernan and Maeve Higgins is explained in relation to Ireland's rich storytelling culture, and the author's own prose is fittingly wry and whimsical which only adds to our enjoyment.' - Dr Oliver Double, University of Kent, UK

About the Author

Susanne Colleary is Assistant Lecturer/Practitioner in the Humanities Department at Sligo Institute of Technology (SIT) and as Adjunct Lecturer in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her previous publications include chapters in The Theatre of Conor McPherson (ed. Jordan & Chambers, 2012), Performing Feminisms (ed. Fitzpatrick, 2012) and For the Sake of Sanity: doing things with humour in Irish performance (ed. Weitz, 2014). She has worked as an actor in both amateur and professional fields and has published articles on Irish theatre, stand-up comedy and televisual satire. She is currently working on practice-based research focused on contemporary and historicised understandings of Irish popular theatre and performance.